Mattress plant fire brings safety issue close to home
David Perry -- Furniture Today, March 31, 2003
Thomasville, N.C. — A fast-burning fire at Carolina Mattress Guild's factory here two years ago brought the issue of fire safety home to the company's owners.
Neal and Kathy Grigg said no one was injured, but the fire left a strong impression, causing $2.8 million in damages.
"We saw how quickly bedding materials burn," said Kathy. Added Neal, "When you go through something like that, it scares you."
As they watched the issue of mattress fire safety grow in importance, the Griggs decided to take action. The result is one of the first lines of bedding offered for sale that meets the stringent new open-flame mattress standards proposed in California.
Working with Elk Technologies and its VersaShield fire barrier, Carolina Mattress Guild has tested more than 40 different mattress constructions. All have passed California's Technical Bulletin 129 and Technical Bulletin 603 standards, the company said.
The company also tested another 40 sets of bedding, some using other flame-resistant solutions, in trial-and-error research to find a fire-safe bed that is comfortable. Some of today's FR solutions passed the test in bed constructions but sacrificed comfort, Kathy said.
In a statement, the company said it "has proven that you don't have to sacrifice comfort, design or cost to make a safe mattress the No. 1 priority. Tests show our mattresses constructed with VersaShield easily meet and exceed the tougher standards."
The FR barrier is quilted to the ticking used in the Safe Dreams line.
Most of the beds that were tested burned with a peak heat release rate of 30 to 60 kilowatts, far below the 150-kilowatt standard proposed by California, the Griggs said. They praised Elk Technologies for its FR technology and for the way it is working with Carolina Mattress.
"They are moving forward every day," Kathy said of Elk.
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