Upholstered furniture flammability
UL is in the final stages of a "demonstration of concept" study to determine if commercially available products such as fire retardant foams and fire barriers (interliners) can retard and/or reduce the fire growth rate of upholstered furniture exposed to small open flames in a similar manner as embraced by the mattress industry. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) determined more home fire deaths resulted from fires beginning with upholstered furniture and mattresses/bedding than any other item. During the five-year period of 2003-2007, these fires accounted for 21% and 13% of deaths and 7% and 10% of the injuries respectively. They also accounted for $783M in direct property damage (Marty Ahrens, "Home Structure Fires", National Fire Protection Association, One Batterymarch Park, Quincy, MA 02169, (March 2010).)
Materials utilized in this investigation included eleven commercially available barrier materials constituting different chemistries and physical structures (including flat weaves, knits, and high lofts); two comparable density polyurethane foam materials, a non-fire retardant foam commonly used in upholstered furniture and a California TB 117 compliant fire-retardant treated foam, and the most popular cover fabric from the largest upholstered furniture cover fabric supplier in the USA (CPSC 16 CFR Part 1634 Type I compliant beige polyester microsuede).
Tests were conducted on three scales of combustibility: (1) material-level tests, (2) furniture mock-up tests, and (3) full-size furniture tests. The combustibility behavior of the individual sample materials and combinations of materials (i.e. foam/barrier liner/cover fabric) under well-ventilated, early stage flaming fire conditions was characterized using a cone calorimeter (ASTM E 1354). In the furniture mock-up tests, cushions of the foam and barrier liner combinations evaluated in the material-level test phase were arranged to replicate an interior corner formed by the seat, back, and arm of a chair/sofa. The furniture mock-ups were ignited at the interior intersection of the three cushions using a BS 5852 Flaming Ignition Source 1 (match-flame equivalent). Heat release rate and mass loss rate were measured under an open calorimeter. Combustibility of full-size chairs made from three of the foam and liner barrier combinations were compared to typical residential materials. Furniture pieces were ignited at an seat-back-arm interior corner, center of the seat-back cushions, and the back leg area using the same BS 5852 Flaming Ignition Source 1 (match-flame equivalent) as for the furniture mock-ups. Heat release rate and mass loss rate were measured under a product calorimeter.
The results of these experiments provide knowledge on the potential fire growth reduction for the different investigated strategies, implementation feasibility, the interaction between different chemistries and components, and the influence of test scale and sample design on fire performance. Collectively this information can be used by researchers, manufacturers and industry associations, and regulators such as the Consumer Public Safety Commission (CPSC) and California Bureau of Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation (CA BHFTI) toward the development of a compliance program for upholstered furniture akin to the CPSC program for mattresses.
The project report is currently being prepared and will be posted here once completed.
Furniture mock-up test on polyester wrap covered polyurethane foam cushions with a flat fire barrier inside the cover fabric (60 s ignition flame exposure)
Upholstered chair with polyester wrap covered Cal TB 117 compliant fire retardant treated polyurethane foam cushions (20 s ignition flame exposure at the center of the seat-back cushions)
Comparison of Upholstered Furniture on Living Room Flashover (Phase 2)
A series of living room fires were conducted to better understand the impact upholstered furniture materials play in fire growth.
The rooms were 12 ft by 12 ft, with an 8 ft ceiling built using typical SPF stud walls and engineered joist ceiling. There was an 8 ft wide by 7 ft tall opening on the front wall. The walls and ceiling were lined with ½ inch painted gypsum board and the floor was covered with carpet and padding.
The rooms were identically furnished with engineered wood television stand, book case, coffee table and end tables purchased from a national department store chain. The end table had a lamp with polyester shade on top of it and a wicker basket inside it. The coffee table had six color magazines, a television remote and a synthetic plant on it. The television stand had a color magazine and a 37 inch flat panel television. The book case had two small plastic bins, two picture frames and two glass vases on it. The right rear corner of the room had a plastic toy bin, a plastic toy tub and four stuffed toys. The rear wall had polyester curtains hanging from a metal rod and the side walls had wood framed pictures hung on them.
The only furnishings that differed in the tests were the materials used in the upholstered chair and sectional sofa as follows:
- Legacy upholstered furniture: cotton batting around metal spring cushions, cotton cover fabric
- Contemporary upholstered furniture: polyester wrap covered polyurethane foam cushions, polyester microsuede cover fabric
- Barrier modified contemporary upholstered furniture: high-loft fire barrier covered polyurethane foam cushions, polyester microsuede cover fabric
The fires were ignited by placing a lit candle on the right side of the sofa and allowed to grow until flashover. The Contemporary upholstered furniture furnished room transitioned to flashover at 4 minutes and 45 seconds, the Legacy upholstered furniture furnished room transitioned at 34 minutes and 15 seconds, and the Barrier modified contemporary upholstered furniture furnished room self-extinguished at 15 minutes. When the fire was ignited in the center of Barrier modified contemporary upholstered sofa, the room transitioned to flashover at 21 minutes and 40 seconds.
The project report for Phase 2 is currently being prepared and will be posted here once completed.
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Comparison of Upholstered Furniture on Occupant Tenability and Survivability (Phase 3)
The impact upholstered furniture materials play on fire growth and subsequent occupant tenability and survivability was investigated in a series of full-scale house fire experiments conducted in Underwriters Laboratories' large fire facility. One of two houses was a one-story, 1200 ft2, 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom house (8 rooms total); the second house was a two-story 3200 ft2, 4 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom house (12 rooms total). The second house featured a contemporary open floor plan with the two-story great room and foyer open to the upstairs bedrooms.
The living/great rooms were identically furnished with engineered wood television stand, coffee table and end tables purchased from a national department store chain. The end tables had a lamp with polyester shade on top of it. The only furnishings that differed in the tests were the materials used in the upholstered chair and sectional sofa as follows:
- Contemporary upholstered furniture: polyester wrap covered polyurethane foam cushions, polyester microsuede cover fabric
- Barrier modified contemporary upholstered furniture: high-loft fire barrier covered polyurethane foam cushions, polyester microsuede cover fabric
All of the furniture pieces used the same hardwood frames.
The fires were ignited by placing a lit candle on the right side of the sofa and allowed to grow until temperatures in a remote location from the fire reached an unsurvivable level of 150 °C (302 °F). Preliminary data analysis supports Phase 2 findings.
Data collected from these March 2012 experiments is being analyzed. The project report for Phase 3 will be posted here once completed.
Houses and room furnishing arrangements used in Phase 3 Tenability and Survivability Experiments.
Publications
Upholstered Furniture Flammability: Material-level and Mock-up Fire Tests - Conference Proceedings of Fire & Materials 2011, pp 829-839 (2011)
Upholstered Furniture Flammability Study. IFMA Quarterly Newsletter, pp 15, 27-28 (Winter 2011)
Upholstered Furniture Flammability Study. Campus Fire Safety eNewszone, pp 1, 4 (October 2011)
Upholstered Furniture Flammability. The Fire & Security Authority, Issue 2, pp 1, 6-7 (2011)
