FireNet Community
FIRE SERVICE AND GENERAL FIRE SAFETY TOPICS => General Interest => Topic started by: Tom Sutton on January 16, 2014, 10:25:23 AM
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Search for "Fake Britain Special: Furniture Inferno" in the BBC iPlayer worth a look.
Or try http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03qfnsf/Fake_Britain_Special_Furniture_Inferno/
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Search for "Fake Britain Special: Furniture Inferno" in the BBC iPlayer worth a look.
Or try http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03qfnsf/Fake_Britain_Special_Furniture_Inferno/
I have watched it - this morning I have had my first concerned member of the public telephone for advice.
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I watched it and thought it was reasonable coverage of a story that must horrify the likes of Bob Graham who did so much work in the past to make furniture safer and ultimately save lives in the home; this work has had a major effect on the reduction in the number of fires and fire deaths.
Anyone working in fire safety should have the phone number of the local trading standards available plus it will be good for driving up the HFSRA figures within the brigades.
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Hey, I know if it's gonna burn it will but, it was interesting that the samples tested were bent at right angles and the crib situated just so!
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How will Trading Standards enforce the regulations when the manufacturers are foreign nationals or will they chase the retailers who may also find difficulty in proving the product meet the regulations?
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Its against the law to import furniture that doesn't meet the regulations so I assume they will be taken to court.
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Its against the law to import furniture that doesn't meet the regulations so I assume they will be taken to court.
On the other hand, how many Smalltown Borough Councils will want to take on Amazon?
No-one's died, the products have been withdrawn: is a prosecution really in the public interest (as defined by the Borough Accountant)?
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The program has been withdrawn from BBC but still available on YouTube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LccNPAbfp_8
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It should be about the diligence process employed by the retailers. If they have taken appropriate steps to make sure the product complies with UK furniture regulations then fine, they have be conned by the manufacturer. Imports from the rogue manufacturer should then be targeted by trading standards in the future. However, if they haven't completed a reasonable amount of due diligence then it would definitely be in the public interest to pursue this legally. What else might they be importing that does not comply with UK/EU regulations; toys, electrical goods, children’s pyjamas or food?
Don't forget the horse meat! It is the UK retailer’s ability to drive down supply costs that is causing manufacturers to cut corners, seek cheaper and sometimes inferior raw materials or even exploit foreign labour markets.
Making a bigger profit at the expense of safety is not and never should be acceptable.