This presentation on fire reduction strategies for residential furniture details the role of flame retardants and compares usage and analysis in various jurisdictions.

1. Fire Reduction Strategies
for Residential Furniture
Applications
Mike Nagridge
Dr. Sergei Levchik
Joel Tenney
Dr. Mike Goode
Greg Symes
Dr. Anantha Desikan

2. Topics for Today
1. Furniture Fire
standard
• Smolder
• Open Flame
• Component versus
Item test methods
2. Health, Safety and
Environmental
properties of flame
retardants
“One child's body was found in a bedroom of the
single-story home just three feet from where one
of the firefighters had made it into the structure.
The other child was found with her father just
outside of that room”

3. Fire Safety - Role of Flame Retardants
•NFPA data showed smolder and open flame both similarly
important
•NFPA data shows furniture fires are unique with respect to
the low frequency and high death rates
•Transition from smolder to open flame not well understood
but important
•Furniture fires are still a problem and flame retardants are a
proven solution

4. International Comparison of Fire Statistics
• Out of 23 countries surveyed by FEMA, the top 4
reductions in fire death rates between 1979 and 2007 were:
– Canada -70.7%
– UK -69.5%
– USA -66.1%
– Ireland -54.4%
– Scandinavia -22.4%
“Fire death rates and trends, an international perspective,” FEMA, July 2011
The only 4 countries in the survey to
have introduced open flame standard
during the period

-28% -6%
Government study confirmed
linked to fire standard with
little change in smoking over period
Data from report of
UK Department for
Business, Innovation and Skills

5. Open Flame Fire Standards
Large Flame FAR Part 25.853
16 CFR 1633
Medium Flame BS 5852, Crib 5
Cal TB133
ASTM E2574
CPSC 2007*
Small Flame Cal TB117
MVSS-302
CPSC 2005
Short Duration
<15 sec
Medium Duration
15-60sec
Long Duration
>60 sec
*Barrier test only
Flame retardants are used successfully to meet all standards

6. Fire Safety - Role of Flame Retardants
•People die in large fires when smoldering transitions to flaming
•The ignition source of a smoldering object can be a cigarette, a spark
from fire place, etc
•Very rarely do people suffocate because of smolder only scenario
•The proposed CPSC smoldering standard does not address
transition from smoldering to flame because it is performed
without air draft
•Not representative of real life
•(open windows, running ceiling fan etc.)
•Independent of ignition source (flame or smoldering), the goal
must be to prevent ignition and fire growth

7. Polyurethane Flame Retardant Options
– Reactive
– Polymeric
– Flame Retardant Polyols
– Solid Inorganics
– Additive

8. Flame Retardants
• Fyrol® 6 (1963)
– Reactive
• Fyrol® PNX / PNX-LE (2003)
– Polymeric, highly efficient
• Fyrol® A710 / HF-4 (2005)
– Additive TBPP
• Fyrol® HF-5 (2010)
– Additive/Polymeric
New Products under development
E08-16T/E10-61T – additive solutions
E10-62T – reactive solution

9. Health, Safety, and Environment
• Flame retardants are already reviewed in the regions
including the US, Canada, EU, and Asia
• Flame retardants used in imported furniture are not required to
meet US review (TSCA) requirements
• Additional reviews are underway
• EPA – 20
• Canada – 10
• California Safer Products
• Third party (Environ) evaluations indicate Fyrol A710
and Fyrol HF-5 show improved HSE versus TDCP
• New methodologies are being utilized
• Zebra fish tests
• Exposure Routes
– Work done in Europe (Fisk „05), EPA, CPSC, Duke University (2012)

10. Thank You For Your Kind Attention
Questions?