Data Re: Fires Involving Upholstered Furniture

Posted on September 23rd, 2019 by ContentEditor

The old saying goes, “You only get one chance to make a first impression.” As a business owner, your office or business property is often what contributes to this first impression. The look, the feel of your business location, the aesthetic appeal goes a long way to attract a customer. Sometimes, it’s this very ‘vibe’ that can be the difference in whether or not a customer will give you his business. And the décor has a lot to do with that. The other side of beautiful décor is that it can be a major fire hazard if not properly protected. Most décor is highly flammable if the proper precautions aren’t taken, and today we’ll discuss the particular threat of fire caused by upholstery and furniture.

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has released a study that took place from 2010 – 2014. In this study, it gave some important data regarding fires that were a result of upholstered furniture. The report focused on home fires in particular, but since upholstered furniture is also located on business properties, the details are relevant to business owners as well.

During that 2010 – 2014 time period, over 5300 fires resulted from upholstered furniture that was ignited by flames. Yearly, on average, these fires led to 440 civilian deaths and 700 civilian injuries. However, those fires caused monumental loss, something to the tune of $269 million in property damage each year. Over the course of this study, fires whose source was upholstered furniture accounts for 2% of overall fires, yet they caused 18 % of deaths that occurred in home fires.

When we seek to determine the causes of these fires involving upholstered furniture, smoking material was the primary origin in most – 20% of the time. Heaters also had a part to play  – they were the culprit in 11% of the fires. Combined, candles, lighters, and matches were responsible for 20% of the fires, followed by electric and light issues, coming in around 12%. From all of these catalysts, upholstered furniture went ablaze.

So what is a business owner to learn from this report? The first thing to notice is that all of the elements that set the upholstered furniture on fire are present in offices and business locations as well as homes. We can conclude, then, that these things are also a risk for business owners.

Secondly, we need to recognize how important flameproofing treatments are. Upholstered furniture is able to be treated with fire retardants. When these treatments take place, the objects become non-combustible – meaning, they no longer contribute to the spread and severity of a fire. If those pieces of upholstered furniture in the homes had been flameproofed, the outcomes of those fires would have been drastically different.

NYC Flameproofing has been serving the Metro New York City area for over 50 years, and we are committed to keeping businesses protected from fire through our flameproofing treatments. If you have upholstered furniture or other decorative items that need to be treated with fire retardants, we are here to help. Please call to receive a free, no-obligation estimate as well as answers to any questions or concerns you may have. We would love to hear from you today! 1 (800) 291-0904

 

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