Fire resistance & furnishings — a timeline
- 1967 -- Flammable Fabrics Act amended to include interior furnishings. Original act passed in 1953 to regulate clothing materials.
- 1972 -- Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) created. Fire resistance regulated by the CPSC under Flammable Fabrics Act.
- 1973 -- CPSC adopts 16 CFR Part 1632, a federal mattress flammability regulation requiring mattresses made or sold in the United States to resist lit cigarettes.
- 1975 -- State of California adopts TB 117, requiring foam used in upholstered furniture to resist cigarettes and small open flames, such as matches and cigarette lighters.
- 1976 -- CPSC proposes federal furniture flammability regulations, but concern over carcinogens in flame retardant materials delays action for more than a year.
- 1978 -- Upholstered Furniture Action Council (UFAC) proposes a Voluntary Action Program and adopts construction guidelines for resisting lit cigarettes. Guidelines are amended in 1983 and regularly revised, existing today as NFPA 260.
- 1980 - 1999 -- Federal mattress flammability regulation 16 CFR Part 1632 contributes to a two-thirds reduction in bedroom fires and related loss of lives in bedroom fires.
- 1993 -- National Association of State Fire Marshals petitions CPSC to develop a national regulation for upholstered furniture similar to California TB 117. That petition is later withdrawn, but on June 1, 2007, the association renews its call for a national regulation.
- 1996 -- Sleep Product Safety Council (SPSC) and CPSC study residential mattress fires set by open flames. Based on this research, mattress industry begins discussing a federal regulation for resistance to open flame sources. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) undertakes precedent-setting study to provide more information.
- 1999 -- SPSC, CPSC and NIST begin researching a federal regulation addressing mattress flammability resistance to open flame sources, such as matches, cigarette lighters and candles.
- 2001 -- CPSC proposes new federal regulation to address mattress flammability to open flame sources. CPSC works with mattress industry, NIST and the California Bureau of Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation to develop an open-flame test method.
- 2005 -- California enacts TB 603, requiring mattress manufacturers and retailers to comply with open-flame resistance requirements. CPSC announces intent to adopt a similar flammability regulation for all mattresses sold in the United States.
- 2006 -- CPSC adopts 16 CFR Part 1633 under the Flammable Fabrics Act, the first new federal flammability regulation for mattresses in more than 30 years.
- July 1, 2007 -- 16 CFR Part 1633 goes into effect. Mattresses sold in the United States must be resistant to open flame sources.
Sources: UL, National Association of State Fire Marshals, Consumer Product Safety Commission, Sleep Products Safety Council, and Upholstered Furniture Action Council
