flame retardancy of mattresses

[Mushy]

my knowledge in this subject isn't what it should be and I'm trying to change that

has anyone been involved where these have caught fire?...I've been to many house fires where mattresses have been reduced to a smouldering mess....but not in places like Healthcare premises etc

Am I right in saying that the resistance to ignition test is cigarette/match/butane flame for 15 seconds?

is flame retardancy just that ie will resist ignition but will still catch fire if sufficient prolonged flame is applied?

sorry if these sound like numbnut questions

[wee brian]

Yes. Furniture that meets the Furniture and Furnishings regs standards are harder to ignite but will still burn eventually. If you want products that dont burn at all (in normal fire conditions) then you need something that is classed as non combustible.

That leaves you with concrete matresses which are a bit uncomfortable

I wouldnt call it a silly question.

[Mushy]

concrete mattresses...reminds me of my army days 

cheers Wee Brian

[Midland Retty]

Get a water bed - simples !

Sorry 

[John Webb]

I can vaguely recall an incident (in Chatham?) where mattresses in store smouldered for long time and when a fire crew opened up the store there was virtually an explosion which caused severe injuries or worse. Sorry - wasn't directly involved in the ensuing research so I don't recall the fine detail. I'm sure however that the research came up with mattress designs that were significantly less likely to smoulder or burn.

[Tom Sutton]

Assuming it is domestic then Check out http://www.fira.co.uk/ free registration and download the guide to Furniture Regs. You will also need BS 5852 and BS 7177.

[Colin Newman]

The resistance to ignition standard for matresses used in healthcare premises referred to in HTM05-03 Part C is ignition source 5 (wood crib - 20g of newspaper equivalant) for medium risk patient categories [general patient areas] and ignition source 7 (wood crib - 100g of newspaper equivalent) for high risk patient catagories [mental health envoironments].

[Steps]

Mushy,

Try this link, the last paragraph contains the information which I think you seek.
http://www.sp.se/en/index/services/firetest_furniture/BS6807/Sidor/default.aspx

[Mushy]

thanks all....

very helpful information cheers

[jokar]

John, 2 Kent Firefighters died when a mattress store exploded and they got caught in it.