California Fire Standards Law (TB603)
According to the NFPA, more than 700 people die in bedroom fires every year in the U.S. and thousands are injured
Home fires are common enough in the U.S. -- they occur about every 93 seconds. Consequently, America also has the highest fire fatality rate in the industrialized world, according to The U.S. Fire Administration. In an effort to help improve family safety, California has become the first state to pass a law that will substantially improve the ability of residential mattresses to resist fires from open-flame hazards such as candles, lighters and matches. Similar bills are now being considered in New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island.
Key to understanding the emerging issue of bedroom fires, this sanctuary in the home now ranks second to kitchens as the most common location where residential fires occur. Children playing with matches, candles and lighters start more than 50 percent of these fires. The rise of bedrooms as a danger zone can be partially attributed to increased decorative candle use. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) states home fires caused by candles are at a 20-year high, while fire fatalities associated with candle use increased 750 percent over a 19-year period starting in 1980.
According to the NFPA, more than 700 people die in bedroom fires every year in the U.S. and thousands are injured. "Mattresses significantly contribute to the seriousness of this hazard," said the outgoing chief of the California Bureau of Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation (BHFTI), Lynn Morris. "The objective of the new legislation is to help save lives by providing consumers with a safer mattress." Under California's new mattress law, TB603, manufacturers will have to provide mattresses that can withstand a 30-minute open-flame burn test designed to duplicate fire conditions created when bedding materials such as sheets and comforters ignite.
What “sleep surfaces” are covered by TB603?
-- Adjustable mattresses
-- Crib and bassinet mattresses
-- Day beds
-- Mattress alone, designed to be sold without foundation
-- Mattress sets (including all foam types)
-- Futons, including flip chairs
-- Hybrid flotation and airbed ensembles
-- Rollaway and Hide-a-beds
-- Sofa sleeper mattresses, only if detachable
-- Murphy wall beds with detachable mattress
-- Trundle beds with detachable mattress
-- Used/2nd-hand “renovated” (or recovered) mattresses
What products are exempted from TB603?
-- Camping pads/mats (outdoor)
-- Traditional air beds and bladder water beds (without quilting)
-- Infant car beds/pads
-- Sofa sleepers where mattress is not detachable
Since bedclothes are used on the top of mattresses, aren’t they an important factor in these fires? Will they also be regulated?
Two separate studies of actual bedroom fires surveys conducted by the CPSC and the National Association of State Fire Marshals found that bedclothes are typically the first item ignited in bedroom fires. Based on these “real world” findings, the mattress industry commissioned NIST to determine what impact ignited bedclothes have on the underlying mattress.
Assembly Bill 603 required the Bureau to develop standards for filled bedclothes (i.e., pillows, comforters and mattress pads) if it found that those products contribute significantly to bedroom fires. The Bureau has made such a determination and is in the process of plans to drafting standards for bedclothes, which will be called Technical Bulletin 604 or TB604.
What bedclothes will TB604 cover?
Filled items, such as:
-- pillows
-- comforters
-- bedspreads
-- mattress pads
** Conventional sheets, blankets and pillowcases will not.
