Requires that mattresses and upholstered furniture be fire retardant pursuant to regulation to be adopted by the office of fire prevention and control

Title of bill

An act to amend the general business law and the executive law, in relation to requiring mattresses and upholstered furniture to be fire retardant

Purpose or general idea of bill

This bill would require that mattresses and upholstered furniture be fire retardant pursuant to regulations to be adopted by the office of fire prevention and control.

Summary of specific provisions

Section one of this bill would amend the general business law to require all mattresses and box springs manufactured for sale in New York State to be fire retardant. The office of fire prevention and control would adopt regulations requiring that fire retardant mattresses and box springs meet resistance to an open-flame test that uses a pass or fail performance criteria. If the office of fire prevention and control concludes that other bedding contributes to mattress fires, the regulations shall require other bedding to be flame retardant under the resistance to open-flame test.

Requirements for flame resistant mattresses, box springs, or other bedding products would not apply to any hotel, motel, bed and break- fast inn, or similar transient lodging establishment that has an automatic fire extinguishing system that conforms to applicable state codes. Such requirements would, however, apply to all seating furniture sold or offered for sale by an importer, manufacturer, or wholesaler for use in this state.

Section two of this bill would amend the executive law to further establish these mattress and box spring fire retardant requirements.

Pursuant to this bill, the attorney general would have the power to assess a fine of up to one thousand dollars for each violation of this section. To enforce the provisions of this section, the attorney general may bring an action on behalf of the people of the State of New York.

Justification

On April 5, 2004, a young couple and their four year old daughter from the City of Yonkers were killed in an apartment fire that started when a mattress caught fire from a stove's open flame. Unfortunately, this tragedy plays itself out hundreds of times throughout the country each year resulting in fatalities, injuries and hundreds of millions of dollars in property damages. Mattresses are one of the most flammable items in the home because of the polyurethane foam - the material which makes the bed comfortable, is also what makes it very flammable.

Currently, federal guidelines administered by the Consumer Product Safety Commission only requires mattresses to be flame resistant meaning they have to pass a smoldering cigarette test - but are not required to resist an open flame. California has recently enacted the nation's first law requiring that mattresses, box springs, and futons sold to consumers provide protection against an open flame. This standard is designed to prevent an intense mattress fire for a full thirty minutes, giving potential victims a life-saving window to escape.

Legislative history

2008 - 3616: Referred to the Standing Committee on Consumer Protection

Fiscal implications

None Noted.

Effective date

This act would take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have become a law.