Death Trap Mattresses a Fire Hazard in UK Homes

Jan. 14, 2014 - PRLog -- Unscrupulous mattress manufacturers are putting people's lives at risk by flooding the UK market with beds and mattresses that don't meet fire safety standards, it's claimed.

An alarming number of illegal 'death-trap' products are being sold to customers, who remain unaware of the risk they pose.

The UK’s No1 bed manufacturer, Silentnight Group, is calling for the industry to  “clean up its act”, supporting the National Bed Federation’s new Code of Practice, and warning consumers not to take risks by making sure products they buy have been properly tested.

To highlight the potential life-threatening danger to consumers, Silentnight Group has  developed a hard-hitting educational video (www.silentnightgroup.co.uk/fire-safety-video (http://www.silentnightgroup.co.uk/fire-safety-video.html)) with an independent testing authority, to emphasise the importance of buying products that conform to UK Fire Regulations.

The video compares the difference in a controlled burn test of a compliant Silentnight mattress to that of a non-compliant (imported) mattress bought online from a UK retailer.

Whereas the compliant Silentnight mattress fails to ignite, the non-compliant mattress sets alight and within three minutes is filling the room with deadly toxic fumes.

After six minutes the room is completely ablaze. Given the average time for firefighters to reach a fire is nine minutes, the consequences are strikingly clear.

All brands and products manufactured by Silentnight Group, from Silentnight, Sealy, Rest Assured, Layezee, Perfecta and Pocket Spring Bed Company comply fully with UK legal requirements and statutory standards.

The company has invested heavily in its own in-house testing laboratory since 1980 and places the utmost importance on quality and assurance. This year alone has performed 977 flammability tests on incoming raw materials and 2,778 flammability tests on finished products using its own in-house testing laboratory, which is one of seven in the UK that is audited and accredited by SATRA, a leading authority on international legislation and  testing.

Managing director Steve Freeman said: “Many beds and mattresses are simply a death-trap – this is an issue the industry can not shy away from and urgent action must be taken to ensure that UK consumers are not unknowingly put at risk.