03 May The fire performance of furniture in China is expected to be improved
The fire performance of furniture in China is expected to be improved.
Currently, the National Technical Committee 480 on Furniture of Standardization Administration of China is revising the mandatory standard Technical specifications for the flame-retardant safety of furniture (GB17927), the initiative has been approved at the end of 2021, and the standard is estimated to be formally released within two years.
The reason of revising this standard is the fire caused by furniture happens very often, and the situation is serious. According to the released data from the Fire Department of the Ministry of Emergency Management, the occurrence of fire accidents in places of residence rose nationwide in the past 10 years from 2012 to 2021, a total of 1.324 million fire accidents occurred in places of residence across the country, resulting in the death of 11,634 people, injuries to 6,738 people, and direct property losses in the amount of 7.77 billion yuan. Among them, fires ignited by upholstered furniture accounted for 15% of the total number of fatal fire accidents, and those ignited by beddings accounted for 12%.
Clearly, fires related to upholstered furniture and furniture packages can easily cause serious personal injuries, so the flame-retardant safety of furniture is related to the safety of people’s life and properties. Studies have shown that furniture protected by flame-retardant measures can obviously limit the intensity and degree of fires and delay their outbreak time, thus gaining valuable time for evacuation and greatly reducing casualties and property damages.
In September 2021, the Fire Department of Brazil conducted fireproof tests on sofas with and without flame retardants. They found that sofas without flame retardants were soon heated up, while those with flame retardants experienced a gradual temperature rise, as the flame retardants could slow the spread of flames. The data collected showed that flame-retardant materials could extend the time taken for temperature and heat to peak.
British furniture fire prevention standard is the strictest in the world. A study by the US Southwest Research Institute in Texas on Sep., 2020, compared the furniture sold in France, the UK, and the US, the result indicated that the furniture designed according to the British standards was superior to that designed according to the standards of other countries.
It is expected that, by revising its Technical specifications for the flame-retardant safety of furniture, China will strengthen the standards on the fireproof performance of furniture, keep up with UK in this regard, and improve the fire safety of family life.
http://std.samr.gov.cn/gb/search/gbDetailed?id=B28C54CA410C1D89E05397BE0A0AE8A8
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