AHFA, NHFA support fire sprinklers in stores
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, March 23, 2008
High Point — A proposed building code change supported by the industry's two largest trade associations would require fire sprinklers in stores that stock much upholstered furniture.
The American Home Furnishings Alliance and National Home Furnishings Assn. said they joined forces in March to propose a change in the commercial building code to improve fire safety for retail employees, customers and first responders.
What spurred the proposal was the June 2007 fire at the Sofa Super Store in Charleston, S.C., that killed nine firefighters when its roof collapsed. The building had no sprinklers. After the incident, the AHFA and NHFA pledged to work together to get international building and fire codes amended to require new furniture stores and warehouses to have sprinklers.
The organizations also said they are exploring measures such as tax incentives that would encourage existing stores to retrofit with sprinklers.
Several weeks ago, a committee of the International Code Council approved a proposal to require sprinklers for furniture stores containing significant amounts of upholstered furniture. The group — which develops the codes used to construct residential and commercial buildings — is likely to take final action on the proposal in September.
Andy Counts, AHFA's CEO, and Doug Kays, NHFA's 2008 president, testified before the commission in support of the proposed code change.
"There is no such thing as totally fire-safe upholstered furniture," Counts said. "Materials and constructions touted as more fire-resistant have not proven so to the satisfaction of fire authorities. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has tested furniture with combustion-modified polyurethane foam, such as that required in California and the United Kingdom, and found that such foam does not meaningfully improve fire performance when furniture is exposed to an open flame."
Other researchers have found that constructions employing the fire-blocking barriers now prevalent in mattresses do not reliably slow the progression of furniture fires, Counts added. This is likely due to the variety of upholstery fabrics and seating configurations in furniture, he said.
Members of the International Code Council include state, county and municipal code enforcement and fire officials, architects, engineers, builders, contractors, elected officials, manufacturers and others.
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