Eliminate fire hazards from your home

This is the third article in a series on fire safety.

Your home is filled with materials that burn and products that will burn if ignited.

Upholstered furniture, clothing, drapery fabrics, and liquids such as gasoline and volatile solvents are involved in many injury-causing fires each year. Most of these fires could be prevented.

Upholstered furniture

In 1989, there were 18,600 residential fires with upholstered furniture. About 900 people lost their lives. Smoking materials caused about one half of these fires. Property losses amounted to over $100 million from fires that started by cigarette ignition of upholstered furniture.

Look for furniture designed to reduce the likelihood of furniture fire from cigarettes. Much of the furniture manufactured today has significantly greater resistance to ignition by cigarettes than upholstered furniture manufactured 10 to 15 years ago. This is particularly true of furniture manufactured to comply with the requirements of the Upholstered Furniture Action Council's (UFAC) Voluntary Action Program. A gold colored tag on the furniture item may identify such upholstered furniture. The legend on the front of the tag in red letters states "Important Consumer Safety Information from UFAC."

Always check the furniture where smokers have been sitting for improperly discarded smoking materials. Ashes and lighted cigarettes can fall unnoticed behind or between cushions or under furniture.

Do not place or leave ashtrays on the arms of chairs where they can be knocked off. Look for fabrics made predominantly from thermoplastic fibers (nylon, polyester, acrylic or olefin) because they resist ignition by burning cigarettes better than cellulose fabrics (rayon or cotton). In general, the higher the thermoplastic content, the greater the resistance to cigarette ignition.

Mattress and bedding

Smoldering fires in mattresses and bedding materials caused be cigarettes are a major cause of deaths in residential fires. In 1989 over 35,000 mattresses and bedding fires caused about 700 deaths.

Do not smoke in bed. Smoking in bed is a major cause of accidental fire deaths in homes. Locate heaters or other fire sources at least three feet from the bed to prevent the bedding from catching fire. Consider replacing your old mattress with a new one if you are a smoker. Mattresses manufactured since 1973 are required to resist cigarette ignition.

Wearing apparel

Most fibers used in clothing can burn, some more quickly than others. A significant number of clothing fires occur in the 65+ age group from nightwear. In 1989 about 200 clothing fire deaths were reported, about three fourths occurred in people over 65. The severity of apparel burns is high. Hospital stays average over one month.

Small open flames, including matches, cigarette lighters and candles are the major source of clothing ignition. These are followed by ranges, open fires and space heaters. The most commonly worn garments associated with clothing ignition injuries are pajamas, nightgowns, robes, shirts/blouses, pants/slacks and dresses.

Consider purchasing fabrics such as 100 percent polyester, nylon, wool and silk that are difficult to ignite and tend to self extinguish. Certain fabrics containing cotton, cotton/polyester blends, rayon and acrylic are relatively easy to ignite and burn rapidly. Fabric construction also affects ignitability. Tight weaves or knits and fabrics without a fuzzy or napped surface are less likely to ignite and burn rapidly than open knits or weaves, or fabrics with brushed or piled surfaces.

Consider purchasing garments that can be removed without having to pull them over the head. Clothes that are easily removed can help prevent serious burns. If a garment can be quickly stripped off when it catches fire, injury will be far less severe or avoided altogether.

Follow manufacturer's care and cleaning instructions on products labeled "flame resistant" to ensure that their flame resistant properties are maintained.

Flammable liquids

One of the major causes of household fires is flammable liquids. These include gasoline, turpentine, contact cements, paint thinner, kerosene and charcoal lighter fluid. The most dangerous of all is gasoline.

Take extra precautions in storing and using flammable liquids, such as gasoline, paint thinners, etc. They produce invisible explosive vapors that can ignite by a small spark at considerable distances from the flammable substance. Store them outside the house.

Don McGonagil, The Home Inspection Company 615.582.2296 www.thehomeinspectioncompany.com

donmcgonagil@comcast.net