Review of Progress Towards the Development of an Upholstered Furniture Flammability Standard

Fires from upholstered furniture are the leading cause of residential fire deaths in the United States. The Amended Flammable Fabrics Act of 1967 allowed the federal government to evaluate and develop flammability stan dards in a number of fabric areas, including upholstered furniture. In 1973, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) began initial work towards a mandatory federal standard. Shortly thereafter, the furniture industry formed the Upholstered Furniture Action Council (UFAC). Several states have mean while adopted certain upholstered furniture flammability standards. In 1979, the CPSC postponed implementation of their proposed standard to allow the UFAC to develop their voluntary program. The CPSC and UFAC began a coop erative effort to find ways of improving the cigarette ignition resistance of upholstered furniture. Among those, the use of heat conducting welt cords has proven very promising. Although budgetary reasons forced the CPSC to end their upholstered furniture project in 1986, the UFAC remains committed to find ways for reducing cigarette ignition of upholstered furniture.