llTEO STATES Irtment of 1MERCE

Plication

NBS TECHNICAL NOTE 817

Kitchen Ranges

in Fabric Fires

QC

noo

15165

.o.sn 1114

C.2. U.S.

»ARTMENT

OF

OMMERCE

National

Bureau

of

Standards
NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS

The National Bureau of Standards' was established by an act of Congress March 3, 1901. The Bureau's overall goal is to strengthen and advance the Nation's science and technology

and facilitate their effective application for public benefit. To this end, the Bureau conducts

research and provides: (1) a basis for the Nation's physical measurement system, (2) scientific and technological services for industry and government, (3) a technical basis for equity in trade, and (4) technical services to promote public safety. The Bureau consists of the Institute for Basic Standards, the Institute for Materials Research, the Institute for Applied Technology,

the Institute for Computer Sciences and Technology, and the Office for Information Programs.

THE INSTITUTE FOR BASIC STANDARDS provides the central basis within the United

States of a complete and consistent system of physical measurement; coordinates that system

with measurement systems of other nations; and furnishes essential services leading to accurate and uniform physical measurements throughout the Nation's scientific community, industry,

and commerce. The Institute consists of a Center for Radiation Research, an Office of Measurement Services and the following divisions: Applied Mathematics — Electricity — Mechanics — Heat — Optical Physics — Nuclear

Sciences - — Applied Radiation " — Quantum Electronics ' — Electromagnetics ^ — Time

and Frequency " — Laboratory Astrophysics " — Cryogenics ". THE INSTITUTE FOR MATERIALS RESEARCH conducts materials research leading to improved methods of measurement, standards, and data on the properties of well-characterized materials needed by industry, commerce, educational institutions, and Government; provides

advisory and research services to other Government agencies; and develops, produces, and

distributes standard reference materials. The Institute consists of the Office of Standard Reference Materials and the following divisions: Analytical Chemistry — Polymers — Metallurgy -— Inorganic Materials — Reactor

Radiation — Physical Chemistry.

THE INSTITUTE FOR APPLIED TECHNOLOGY provides technical services to promote

the use of available technology and to facilitate technological innovation in industry and Government; cooperates with public and private organizations leading to the development of

technological standards (including mandatory safety standards), codes and methods of test; and provides technical advice and services to Government agencies upon request. The Institute consists of a Center for Building Technology and the following divisions and offices: Engineering and Product Standards — Weights and Measures — Invention and Innovation — Product Evaluation Technology — Electronic Technology — Technical Analysis — Measurement Engineering — Structures, Materials, and Life Safety * — Building

Environment * — Technical Evaluation and Application * — Fire Technology.

THE INSTITUTE FOR COMPUTER SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGY conducts research and provides technical services designed to aid Government agencies in improving cost effec- tiveness in the conduct of their programs through the selection, acquisition, and effective

utilization of automatic data processing equipment; and serves as the principal focus within

the executive branch for the development of Federal standards for automatic data processing

equipment, techniques, and computer languages. The Institute consists of the following

divisions: Computer Services — Systems and Software — Computer Systems Engineering — Information Technology.

THE OFFICE FOR INFORMATION PROGRAMS promotes optimum dissemination and

accessibility of scientific information generated within NBS and other agencies of the Federal Government; promotes the development of the National Standard Reference Data System and

a system of information analysis centers dealing with the broader aspects of the National Measurement System; provides appropriate services to ensure that the NBS staff has optimum

accessibility to the scientific information of the world. The Office consists of the following

organizational units: Office of Standard Reference Data — Office of Information Activities — Office of Technical

Publications — Library — OflSce of International Relations.

' Headquarters and Laboratories at Gaithersburg, Maryland, unless otherwise noted; mailing address Washington, D.C. 20234.

^ Part of the Center for Radiation Research.

» Located at Boulder, Colorado 80302. Part of the Center for Building Technology.
Kitchen Ranges in Fabric Fires

National Bureau of Standards

APR 2 9 1974 Allan K. Vickers

Fire Technology Division

Institute for Applied Technology < u ^ - , National Bureau of Standards I i [4- Washington, D.C. 20234

^^^^ °" oo.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, Frederick B. Dent, Secretary

NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS, Richard W. Roberts, Director

issued April 1974
National Bureau of Standards Technical Note 817

Nat. Bur. Stand. (U.S.), Tech. Note 817,23 pages (Apr. 1974)

CODEN: NBTNAE

U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON: 1974 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402 (Order by SD Catalog No. C13.46:817). Price 60 cents.
CONTENTS

Page

1. INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 The Flammable Fabrics Accident Case

and Testing System 2

2. IGNITION SOURCE DATA 2

3. KITCHEN RANGE INCIDENTS DATA 4

3.1 Regional Distribution by Range Type 4

3.2 Range Accident Factors 6

3.2.1 Age and Sex of Persons Involved 6

3.2.2 Activities of Persons Involved 6

3.2.3 Fabric Item Involvement 9

3.2.4 Personal Injuries Sustained 12

4. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS 16

5. POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS 16

iii

KITCHEN RANGES IN FABRIC FIRES

Allan K. Vickers

Kitchen ranges played a major role in the 1616 fabric accident

case histories recorded in the Flammable Fabrics Accident Case and

Testing System as of May 1972. They accounted for 214 or 35

percent of the direct garment ignitions in FFACTS. Female victims

outnumbered males by 3 to 1; females under 16 and over 65 were

particularly heavily represented. Reaching over and leaning

against the range caused the majority of the garment ignitions.

Shirts, robes, pajamas, nightgowns and dresses were the mpst

frequently ignited garments. Thirty-four victims died from

injuries resulting from garment ignitions from ranges; 24 of these

fatalities were people over 65 years old.

Key words: Accidents; burns; FFACTS; flammable fabrics; garments;

ignition sources; injuries; kitchen ranges.

1 . INTRODUCTION

As of May 14, 1973, the Flammable Fabrics Act is being administered

by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The National Bureau of

Standards (NBS) furnishes technical support to the Commission in the areas of hazard analysis, flammability research and product flammability

test development. Accordingly, the Hazard Analysis Section, Fire

Technology Division, NBS, reviews available fabric fire data to

determine and understand the hazards leading to fire losses.

As a part of this task, fabric fire accident data recorded in the

NBS Flammable Fabrics Accident Case and Testing System (FFACTS) , a subsystem of the National Fire Data System, is continually reviewed both

to establish candidate priorities for national mandatory standards for

the flammability of fabric products and to provide the basis for the

development of realistic tests which approximate the hazards in real

life situations. This latter function has led to a study of the

ignition sources which most commonly ignite fabric products. A report

on the role of matches and lighters in fabric fires has previously been

issued.

Kitchen ranges are the most frequent single ignition source among

direct garment ignition incidents currently incorporated in the FFACTS

data base. Accordingly, the Fire Technology Division has initiated a cooperative study with representatives of electric and gas range

manufacturers and commercial certification agencies to determine what

design changes in kitchen ranges could be implemented on a voluntary

Slater, J. A., Buchbinder, B. and Tovey, H. , Matches and Lighters in

Flammable Fabric Incidents: The Magnitude of the Problem, Nat. Bur.

Stand. (U.S.) , Tech. Note 750 (Dec. 1972).

1
basis to lessen the hazards associated with their operation. This paper

summarizes the kitchen range accident data in FFACTS in order to provide

further understanding of the hazards associated with kitchen ranges. It

is hoped that this information will prove useful both in determining

what design changes may be appropriate and beneficial to the public and

in increasing public awareness of some of the hazards which could be

avoided with more careful range usage.

1.1 The Flammable Fabrics Accident Case

and Testing System

The FFACTS data base is derived from case history reports on accidental fires, involving fabric products, investigated by Consumer

Product Safety Commission (CPSC) investigators using questionnaires

developed in cooperation with the NBS Fire Technology Division (FTD)

These reports, along with the remains of fabric products involved, are sent to the FTD Hazard Analysis Section for analysis and testing. These

incidents are not selected on a statistical basis and they do not,

therefore, constitute a statistically representative sample of all

fabric fire accidents in the United States. Nevertheless, they

represent events investigated without known preference and may be

roughly representative of incidents reported to the agencies from which

the CPSC obtains accident data.

The FTD processes the reports and fabric samples received from

CPSC, through FFACTS. The procedures under FFACTS include reviewing and

screening of incident reports, laboratory testing and characterization

of the fabric products involved in the accidents, data encoding,

formatting, editing, and entry into a computer master file. Over 130

data elements are coded for each fire accident case. They include the

time and location of the accident, personal and socio-economic facts

about the victim, extent of injury and losses, the sequence of events

leading to the accident, and the nature of involvement of the fabric

products. Data derived from laboratory tests performed on the fabric

product remnants are also encoded, including fabric construction and

fiber content, and the results of flammability tests.

Data in the computer file are tabulated and analyzed to provide

quantitative information on the relative frequencies of involvement of

different fabric products, ignition sources and other parameters, and to

identify trends and significant interrelationships between parameters.

2. IGNITION SOURCE DATA

As of May 1, 1972, the FFACTS data base contained 1616 case histories stemming from 1571 different fabric fire incidents. The

ignition source is known for all but 84 of these incidents.
Relatively few different kinds of ignition sources account for the

vast majority of the fabric fires in FFACTS. "Matches and lighters"

provided the initial heat source for 356 incidents, more than any other

ignition source in FFACTS. "Cigarettes and unknown smoking materials"

ranks second, accounting for 333 fires, while "kitchen ranges", the

ignition source for 267 fabric fires, is third when all the incidents in

the data base are considered. However, when only those incidents in

which garments are directly ignited from the initial heat source are considered (i.e., incidents in which a garment is the first fabric item

ignited and in which no flammable liquids or other intermediary materials

are involved), kitchen ranges become the predominant ignition source,

accounting for over 35 percent of such incidents in FFACTS. These data

are shown in table 1.

In table 1, each of the ignition source categories, with the

exception of kitchen ranges, shows a significant drop between the number

of incidents in the first column (in which all fabric fire incidents are considered) and the number of incidents in the second column (in which

only direct garment ignition incidents are considered) . For "open

fires" and "space heaters, water heaters, and furnaces", the totals

differ primarily because of the frequent involvement of intermediary

materials (particularly flammable liquids) in these incidents.

"Cigarettes and unknown smoking materials" incidents generally involve

the ignition of bedding or other furnishings, not garments.

Flammability experiments at NBS have failed to obtain direct garment

ignition from a burning cigarette. The 54 direct garment ignitions

attributed to this category fall under the "unknown smoking materials"

classification and it is presumed unlikely that these were cigarette

ignitions. For the "matches and lighters" and "other" categories, both

the frequent involvement of intermediary materials and the initial

ignition of bedding or other furnishings account for the large

differences between the two columns of table 1. Unlike the other

ignition source categories, "kitchen ranges" show only a slight difference between total ignitions and direct garment ignitions; eighty

percent of the range incidents involved garments ignited directly from

the range itself.

2 An earlier report, NBS Report #10629, Ignition Sources in Accident

Cases Involving Flammable Fabrics , presented a preliminary summary of

the role of ignition sources in FFACTS incidents, but was subject to

restricted distribution due to its preliminary nature.
Table 1. Ignition Sources for FFACTS Incidents

(FFACTS May 1972)

Total Fabric Total Direct Garment

Ignition Source Fire Incidents Ignition Incidents

Category in FFACTS in FFACTS^

Matches and

Lighters 356 189

Cigarettes and

Unknown Smoking

Materials 333 54

Kitchen Ranges 267 214

Open Fires 170 44

Space Heaters,

Water Heaters

and Furnaces. . . . 126 42

Others 235 55

Total Known 1487 598

Unknown 84

Total 1571 598

Incidents, involving no intermediary materials in the

ignition chain, in which the first fabric item ignited

was a garment

3. KITCHEN RANGE INCIDENTS DATA

3.1 Regional Distribution by Range Type

The 267 range incident reports come from 30 states and the District

of Columbia. Particularly heavily represented are Massachusetts,

Colorado, Michigan, and Iowa, which were former centers for FDA

investigation efforts. A breakdown of the regional distribution of

incidents by range type is presented in table 2.

Table 2 shows that, among FFACTS range incidents, gas ranges

outnumber electric ranges by about 2 to 1. U.S. Bureau of the Census

statistics on regional range-type usage for 1970 are displayed in table

3. (The median date for the FFACTS cases is October 1970.) The data in

table 3 were compiled by the Gas Appliance Manufacturers' Association.

Tables 2 and 3 show roughly similar distributions of gas vs. electric ranges. However, an apparent bias in the FFACTS data base

towards lower income and older housing (because of the population

centers sampled by FDA) results in the FFACTS range-type distribution
approximating the 1960 range usage statistics (which reflect

proportionately greater gas range usage) even more closely than the 1970

data given. As it might be expected, the range accidents in FFACTS

reflect the range usage statistics of the areas from which they were

reported.

Table 2 . Range Type by Geographic Region

for FFACTS Range Incidents

(with Gas and Electric Range Percentages)

(FFACTS May 1972)

Geographic FFACTS Incidents by Range Type

Region Subtotal

Electric Gas Gas & Electric Unspecified

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent and Other Total

Northeast 24 29 58 71 82 100 2 84

North Central. 22 29 55 71 77 100 5 82

South 11 44 14 56 25 100 2 27

West 23 37 40 63 63 100 6 69

Total Known. 80 32 167 68 247 100 15 262

Unknown 1 20 4 80 5 100 5 Total 81 32 171 68 252 100 15 267

Regions used are those used by the U.S. Bureau of the Census.

Table 3. Gas vs Electric Ranges by Geographic Region'

1970 U. S. Range Usage Statistics^

(numbers in thousands)

Geographic

Region

Ranges In Use In U.S.

Total

Gas & Electric

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

Electric Gas

Northeast 4,897 32 10,298 68 15,195 100

North Central. 6,834 39 10,527 61 17,361 100

South 8,884 47 9,843 53 18,727 100

West 5,136 47 5,887 53 11,023 100

Total.

25,751 41 36,555 59 62,306 100

Kegions used are those used by the U.S. Bureau of the Census.

These data were compiled from U.S. Bureau of the Census Detailed

Housing Characteristics by the Gas Appliance Manufacturers

Association.
3.2 Range Accident Factors

While there are over 130 possible data elements coded for each

incident in FFACTS, the scope of this paper on kitchen ranges will be

limited to a discussion of several major variables from which, it is

felt, a more concise and less cluttered view of the kitchen range-fabric

ignition hazard can be drawn. These variables include the age and sex

of perspns involved, the type of range, the activities of persons

involved leading to the ignition, the fabric items involved and personal

injuries sustained.

3.2.1 Age and Sex of Persons Involved

The 267 range incidents in FFACTS directly involved 270 people. In one incident no one was involved; two persons were involved in each of

two incidents; and in another, three persons were involved. Table 4

shows the age-sex distribution of these 270 people vs. the type of

range. Females were involved three times as frequently as were males.

This inbalance reflects the differing range use patterns between the

sexes. The most highly represented groups are females under age 16 and over age 65. Certainly, females in these age groups do not use ranges

more frequently than women 16-65. However, other factors such as less

familiarity with range use, in the case of the younger females, and

poorer judgment and reactions in the case of both the young and the old

make these people more susceptible to accidental fabric ignitions.

There appears to be little overall difference in the age-sex

distributions for gas vs. electric ranges. This would tend to indicate

that certain age-sex groups are more or less susceptible to certain

range hazards, whether the range be gas or electric.

3.2.2 Activities of Persons Involved

A major factor in understanding the hazards associated with kitchen

ranges is the activity of the persons involved, prior to the fabric

ignition. The following two tables show the activities of involved

persons broken into ten categories. These activity categories are cross-tabulated with range type in table 5 and with the age and sex of

the persons in table 6.

A few of the activity categories such as "cooking" or "occupied

near range" do not specify how the fabric ignition took place but merely

state the person's general activity prior to the accident. For these

incidents, there was not sufficient information in the investigation

reports to determine with certainty a specific chain of events. In many

of these cases, particularly among the elderly, the victim was alone and

died from the accident, and no one was able to fully reconstruct the

incident. Most of the other categories represent a more specific

action, which caused the fabric to be exposed to the ignition source.
Table 4. Age-Sex Distribution of Persons Involved in

Range Incidents by Range Type

(FFACTS May 1972)

In In In

Age of Electric Gas Unspecified & Persons Range Range Other Ran;ge Total

Involved Incidents Inc:idents Incident s Incidents

Males Females Males; Females Males Females Males Females

0-5 5 8 5 16 2 10 26

6-10 2 9 5 18 7 27

11-15 3 8 2 12 5 20

16-20 1 2 5 4 1 1 7 7 21-26 3 7 6 10 1 10 17

27-35 1 5 4 11 2 7 16

36-45 1 4 7 7 2 2 10 13

46-55 1 2 3 10 4 12

56-65 4 2 7 1 2 12

66+ 1 14 8 31 2 9 47

Total

Known.

18 63 47 126 6 8 71 197

Unknown.

1 1 2

Total.18 63 47 127 6 9 71 199

Each of the age groups above represents approximately ten percent of the

1970 U.S. population based on 1970 Bureau of the Census statistics.

Tables 5 and 6 show two specific activities which caused the

majority of the range accidents in FFACTS: namely, "reaching over or across" the range and "leaning over or against" the range. These

activities span all ages, both sexes, and both principal range types.

"Reaching over or across" the range generally involved cooking.

Several patterns occur repeatedly through these incidents. A victim

might be removing a pan from a hot burner to a cool one, stirring

something in a pot, or reaching some object on top of or over the range,

The dangers involved in such normal kitchen range activities lie in the

exposed heat sources - a gas flame curling around the edges of a pan, a large electric heating element not fully covered by a small pan, a hot

burner momentarily uncovered while pans are being shifted. Ignition

usually occurred when a dangling sleeve contacted one of the above heat

sources, although in some instances a potholder or dishtowel used as a potholder brushed the heat source. In some other incidents, ignition

occurred when a blousy gown, robe or shirt contacted a front burner

while the victim was reaching toward the back of the range (These
Incidents are included in the "reaching" category although it was the

concurrent "leaning" which actually caused the fire)

"Leaning over or against" the range encompasses both cooking and

non-cooking activities. About half of these incidents involved persons

leaning with their backs to the range—either to warm themselves or to

talk with others in the room or on the phone. The other half involved

persons leaning over the range cooking, turning away from the range, or brushing over the range while walking by. Again loose, blousy garments,

ties, shirttails and apron strings contacted exposed portions of hot

burners. The victims often did not realize their plight until large

areas of their garments were in flames.

"Climbing on or around" the range is primarily a hazard for young

children although others have also been burned while climbing on counters. Young children frequently climbed directly onto the range

surface to reach something intriguing on top of the range. Sometimes

they turned on a burner in the process and thus ignited their clothes.

"Turning the range on or off" incidents generally involved reaching over burners, although a small number of accidents in this category involved

gas explosions.

There are two main types of range accidents which involve

intermediary materials - grease fires and flammable vapor fires.

Nearly all the grease fires in FFACTS resulted from an unattended

pan of grease left on a burner. Most of the accidents would have been

far less severe, had the persons involved reacted correctly. In some instances, the pan had already burst into flame and ignited curtains,

etc. by the time the person returned. More often, however, the pan was

only smoking heavily, and the person tried to carry it to the sink or outside. Jostling the grease in the hot pan frequently caused it to

ignite and the burning grease often spilled on the victim's clothes.

Placing a lid over the pan and turning off the burner would usually have

eliminated the hazard.

Flammable vapor fires generally ignited from gas rather than

electric ranges. Frequently the pilot lights were a sufficient flame source to fill the entire kitchen with flames once the flammable liquid

reached a high vapor concentration. Countertop contact cement was the

most frequent flammable liquid involved in these accidents, although

gasoline and others are also recorded. Victims of these accidents were

not aware of the hazard involved. In one case, professional cabinet

installers remembered to blow out the range pilots before using the

contact cement, but they forgot the oven pilot. After the vapor

accumulated to a sufficient concentration, the room suddenly was engulfed in flames.

The last specific activity listed in tables 5 and 6 involves

persons who were "nearby when curtains, etc. over the range ignited".

Curtains, dishtowels, and, in one instance, a sheet hung over the range

8
to dry came too close to the range burners and ignited. In one of these

cases, a mother and two young children died from asphyxiation after the

plastic kitchen curtains blew over the range and rapidly filled the room

with smoke and flames.

Table 5. Activity of Persons Involved in Range Incidents

by Range Type

(FFACTS May 1972)

Activity of Persons Involved

In In In

Electric Gas Unspecified & Total

Range Range Other Range Persons

Incidents Incidents Incidents Involved

Leaning over or against

range 20

Reaching over or across range 23

Turning range on or off 7 Climbing onto or around

range 6

Cooking (further detail

not specified 9

Occupied near range 4

Nearby when curtains, etc.

above range Ignited

Involved in a grease fire... 10

Using contact cement or solvent near range

Other activity 2

Unknown

Total 81

50

47

5

9

174 15

74

72

12

15

14 23

13 17

7 7 3 7 20

19 1 20

5 1 8

2 2

270

3.2.3 Fabric Item Involvement

For the remainder of the paper, the 53 incidents involving

intermediary materials and/or non-garment fabric item ignitions are eliminated from discussion. While these accidents represent significant

hazards around kitchen ranges, the roles which the fabric items played

in the ignition and resulting injuries are not as clear for these as for

the 214 direct garment ignition incidents.

The specific garment ignited first is known for 196 of the 214

direct garment ignition Incidents. Table 7 displays a breakdown by

garment type of these 196 range-ignited garments, paralleled by totals

of direct ignitions from all other ignition sources in FFACTS. Table 7
X

ow

T(

ta

djen

«:

>1

XI

tn P

c

dJ 'd

c

CnC

(d -^ « <N

•H iH

'O >1

Q) (0 > S

o w

> B

C U

H <

C —

O

inU

Q)

+J H

>

XJ +J 3 O W Eh

T)

0) m >

O .H

>i >

+J c H H

>

•rH W

4J C

u

<: w

u

0) 04

* (N (N un n t^ r- o o a) CNJ o 1 r~ r- nH rH CM rH CM (Nl fN

\D a5 ro CT\ 00 -a (N r') O 0^1 rH VD VO rH «* IX> a\ rH OC) <>i CTl rH o •a" oJ 1X1 iH <N

rH

t-\ rH

rH

(N

CN

CN

1^ q

iH

< M rH VO r- fSl rH n r-4 (N rH ^ r-< 1^ cn

in

IT) r-< VO r-< rH CM <N •^

rH

iri in 1-H r\ f-i •-I rH CN <=d' rH rH

^ LT •^ 1- rH ro r-< n H n o

rH rH n

(N

tn fs (N C\ CN C <N r-< (N <N H CO

CN

(N vt •3' - -H rH rH rH n CN CN CNJ <N r- r- o

rH rH CN

M ir * r-\ rH r- r-{ r~ rrH

O =! '^ r- iH rH rH rH (N O LD in

rH CN CN

ro r^ iH

=!< rH CM (N rH i-\ rH rH

CN CO

Ln ya I- iH <N <yi pr <N n ,-\ rH rH kD O

CN rH US

CO

fa £ Pm S Pm S Cm S Pn S Ph S Pm S bn S b 2 pL. Pt h s,

rH <u • H 4-1 • (0 »-H (U +J U) C P Di

<U 0) C &i C C

Ti •H -rl (0

0) (d

^^ IH h (« P 0) (U U o 0) U M &> u u O x; - 3 a (d > a U OJ o +j n M O nj P (U p

M d1 0) a Cn p a U OJ (0 ^H a

<u c > -> a G cn 3 -H 0) C a a (d

K, > (C c la o c 4H 4-1 C 0) 0) •rl 1- p P f-t o y n: U >W re ^ -H x; > • r< c c P (d Cn s- m Cn !- U T) s o -a i*- O 0) c p

Cn-i- C tn c C tP 01 (P X! Q) o > < c o rH C ir H tr C H T C PJ -rl >i (d > a rH s +) (d H c x: V •H >H -9 != •H Ul a X! rH U- CP o ^- c XI p

C-r- c c c S I^ M 3 U ' tC C 01 a c 3

n3 re <fl s- u H C -U o (0 U > a H X ^ w EH

<U C-1 0) c C rH >- C o 0) 4-> c >- U) )H p c

hJ n: a n: Eh C U rt u c o 2 (U H D1 D c D 1

10
shows that, when incidents involving intermediary materials are excluded, about half of the first-to-ignite robes, shirts, and pajamas

in FFACTS ignited from kitchen ranges. About a third of the dresses and

nightgowns which ignited first in such Incidents ignited from ranges.

As might be expected, there are no direct pants ignition incidents

caused by a range in FFACTS, while all of the apron ignitions in the

data base were caused by ranges

Table 7. Garments Directly Ignited from Initial Heat Source

for Kitchen Ranges and All Other Sources

(FFACTS May 1972)

Kitchen All Other Ignition Total

Garment Type Range Incidents Source Incidents Incidents

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

Dresses 22 39 34 61 56 100

Shirts/Blouses 50 43 67 57 117 100

Pants/Slacks 32 100 32 100

Pajamas 45 48 49 52 94 100

Nightgowns 23 32 48 68 71 100

Robes/Housecoats.. 38 53 34 47 72 100

Aprons 10 100 10 100

Others 8 10 71 90 79- 100

Total 196 37 335 63 531 100

For incidents in which a specified garment ignited directly from an ignition source without the involvement of flammable liquid or other

intermediary materials

Table 8 shows the same 196 garments broken down by range type.

Table 8 merely shows that both gas and electric range burners can and do

ignite garments which come in contact with them. The electric vs. gas

range distributions for the individual garment types appear to reflect

more the garment-range usage patterns of the persons in the data sample

rather than a comparative susceptibility of a garment type to ignite

from one range type or the other.

Tables 9a and 9b break down the directly ignited garments by the

victim's age and sex for gas and electric ranges. These data show that

pajamas are predominantly involved with younger victims, nightgown and

dress incidents are concentrated among young girls and elderly women. Robe incidents center among older women while shirt and blouse ignitions

span both sexes and all ages fairly evenly. Most of these garment-agesex patterns apply for the entire FFACTS data base, not only for range

accidents

11
Table 8. Directly Ignited Garments by Range Type'

(FFACTS May 1972)

Unspecified

Garment Type Electric Range Gas Range and Other Total

Incidents Incidents Range Incidents Incidents

Dresses 3 19 22

Shirts/Blouses 14 33 3 50

Paj amas 24 20 1 45

Nightgowns 11 12 23

Robes/Housecoats.. 11 27 38

Aprons 2 8 10

Others 1 7 8

Total 66 126 4 196

For incidents in which a specified garment ignited directly from a kitchen

range without the involvement of intermediary materials.

3.2.4 Personal Injuries Sustained

Table 10 shows the number of burn injuries and deaths resulting

from the 214 direct garment ignition incidents. Incidents with

intermediary materials involved and incidents in which fabric items

other than garments ignited first are not included in this table;

although there were proportionately more fatalities for these incidents

than for the direct garment ignitions, many of the fatalities were

caused or influenced by flammable liquids or heavy smoke.

Once a garment has ignited from a kitchen range - gas or electric - a burn injury is a near certainty for the victim. However, factors

other than range type have a bearing on the severity of the burn

injuries sustained. These factors include the flammability of the

garments, the availability of help, and most importantly the reactions

and age of the victim.

Twenty-four of the 34 fatal range-garment ignition accidents

involved victims over 65 years old; 23 of these 24 were women. Most of

these victims had slow reactions to their garments igniting and they

often panicked. Elderly persons are also less capable of surviving the

traumas of serious burn injuries. Throughout the FFACTS data base,

elderly persons sustain the most serious, and most frequently fatal,

injuries. Table 10 demonstrates the influence of age on injury

severity.

12
Q

Xi

(0 Eh

(0

4-1

Eh

M +

•P VI5 c >X) Q) •m-H Ul U VD c 1 H

<D

CJi C in m in

Ct^ 1 u <* •H

}-l +J in U "*

Q) 1 t-H vo W m U

in

M-l

n

X 1

(U 0) CM

CO '-- Cn CN <

'O r- VD C (T. CM

nj iH 1

Q) >i CN

tr« (0 < S O

>iCO CN ^ tH 1 u Vi) w <: rH

-p fe C &4

(1)

— in e iH M 1 (0 iH o c-H

-a

(U o

-p <-{ •H 1 C VD

Cr> M

in >1 1 rH o

+JU

0)X

S-l (U H CO

O pH r- r0)

>1

Eh

-PC

<Deum

C5

rH tH

n rH

fa fe s

[0(U

cnm

(1) UQ

COQ)

cn3O

rH

pa \cn -P•H

CO

CM

O rH

in

fe S

cn -P

(0Oo

0)

cnO\cn

0) XiO«

fa S fa fa

>x) in

fa S

cng

•n

nJ

cnCo

cr

-p

•H2

cnou

-po

-po

Eh

13
to +Jc

Q) Xi•HUCH

Q)CnC

to «

nj O

om --~

0) a\

CpEh < U

<

w

+)c

(Ue

(0 o

a

<u +j -Hc

U

Q

Eh

0)

C

0)e

(0

fa s

CO

(DCO3

O

iHm\CO -p

•H

fa s

w

-p

nJO

U

0)

013

O

K\m

(U Xto

fa S

0)

(0e

ttj •n

Id CM

01C

o

+J

en H

fa

01cou

a, <

fa s

(1)

-po

kO o

fa s

(0 P

O

14
Table 10. Bum Injuries and Deaths by Age

and Sex for Direct Garment

Ignition Incidents

(FFACTS May 1972)

Age Sex

Persons

Involved

Bum

Injuries Deaths

0-5

F

M

22

8

22

8

2

6-10

F

M

25

6

25

6

1

11-15

F

M

20

5 205

16-20

F

M

4

5

3

5

21-26

F

M

11

6

11

6

3

27-35

F

M

10

3

10

3

1

36-45

F

M

8

6

8

6 1

46-55

F

M

10

2 10

2 1

56-65

F

M

11

2 82 1

66+

F

M

41

7 397

23

1

Unknown .... F

M

2 1

Subtotals

F

M

164

50

157

50

31

3

Total 214 207 34

15
4. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

The 267 kitchen range-fabric fire accidents in the FFACTS data base

show several common characteristics and reveal accident patterns which

aid in understanding the fire hazards associated with ranges:

1) Thirty-five percent of the direct garment ignitions

in FFACTS were caused by kitchen ranges. About half of the

first-to-ignite shirts, pajamas, and robes and about

a third of the nightgowns and dresses , involved in

incidents with no intermediary materials involvement, were ignited from ranges.

2) Female victims outnumbered male victims by a 3 to 1

margin in range accidents; females under 16 and over

65 were particularly frequently involved.

3) Leaning against and reaching across the

range caused the majority of the garment ignitions

reported.

4) Grease and volatile liquids fires represent

a significant but lesser hazard around ranges

than do direct garment ignitions.

5) Ninety-seven percent of the persons involved in

direct garment ignitions from ranges sustained bums

and 16 percent died; 56 percent of the victims over

65 died as a result of their bums.

5. POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

The kitchen range accident case histories recorded in FFACTS

indicate that garments can easily be ignited in the course of normal

range usage. While much of the problem lies in the garments,

themselves, certain design modifications to the ranges could reduce the

ignition hazard considerably. Conceptual designs which are currently

being evaluated include the following:

1) rearrangement of burner locations to eliminate the need

to reach over them,

2) various methods of eliminating exposed outer portions of

burners or preventing garment contact with the exposed

portions,

3) knob positioning and/or operation that would make ranges

more "child-proof", and

4) burners which would tuck away when not in use.

16
Changes such as these, particularly if complemented by meaningful

public education regarding range hazards and by better garment

flammability standards, could significantly reduce one of the largest

fire hazards in the country today.

17

NBS-114A (REV. 7-73)

U.S. DEPT. OF COMM. BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATA

SHEET

1. PUBLICATION OR RHPORT NO. NBS TN-817

2, Gov't Acces.sion No.

4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE

KITCHEN RANGES IN FABRIC FIRES

3. Recipient's Acces.>;ion No.

5. Publication Date Aoril 1974

6. Performing Organi^.ation Code

7. AUTHOR(S)

Allan K. Vickers

8. Performing Organ. Report No.

9. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME AND ADDRESS

NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20234

10. Proiect/Task/Work Unit No.

11. Contract/Grant Nc

12. Sponsoring Organization Name and Complete Address (Street, City, State, ZIP)

Same as No. 9.

13. Type of Report & Period Covered Final

14. Sponsoring Agency Code

15. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES

16. ABSTRACT (A 200-word or less factual summary of most si^ificant information. If document includes a significant

bibliography or literature survey, mention it here.)

Kitchen ranges played a major role in the l6l6 fabric accident case histories

recorded in the Flammahle Fabrics Accident Case and Testing System as of May 1972.

They accounted for 2lU or 35 percent of the direct garment ignitions in FFACTS,

Female victims outnumbered males by 3 to 1; females under l6 and over 65 were particularly heavily represented. Reaching over and leaning against the range

caused the majority of the garment ignitions. Shirts, robes, pajamas, nightgowns and

dresses were the most frequently ignited garments. Thirty-four victims died from

injuries resulting from garment ignitions from ranges; 2k of these fatalities were

people over 65 years old.

17. KEY WORDS (six to twelve entries; alphabetical order; capitalize only the first letter of the first key word unless a proper name; separated by semicolons) « . -, , , „_._,„_ „., , ^ „ , . Accidents; burns; FFACTS; flammable fabrics; garments;

ignition sources; injuries; kitchen ranges.

18. AVAILABILITY

^ Unlimited

I For Official Distribution. Do Not Release to NTIS

I X^ Order From Sup. of Doc, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402, SD Cat. No. CI 3. ^b I 817

I

j Order From National Technical Information Service (NTIS)

Springfield^ Virginia 22151

19. SECURITY CLASS

(THIS REPORT)

UNCLASSIFIED

20. SECURITY CLASS

(THIS PAGE)

UNCLASSIFIED

21. NO. OF PAGES

23

22. Price

60 cents

USCOMM-DC 29042-P74

NBS TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS

PERIODICALS JOURNAL OF RESEARCH reports National Bureau of Standards research and development in

physics, mathematics, and chemistry. Comprehensive

scientific papers give complete details of the work,

including laboratory data, experimental procedures,

and theoretical and mathematical analyses. Illustrated with photographs, drawings, and charts. Includes

listings of other NBS papers as issued.

Published in two sections, available separately:

• Physics and Chemistry (Section A)

Papers of interest primarily to scientists working in these fields. This section covers a broad range of

physical and chemical research, with major emphasis on standards of physical measurement, fundamental

constants, and properties of matter. Issued six times

a year. Annual subscription: Domestic, $17.00; Foreign, $21.25.

• Mathematical Sciences (Section B)

Studies and compilations designed mainly for the mathematician and theoretical physicist. Topics in mathematical statistics, theory of experiment design,

numerical analysis, theoretical physics and chemistry,

logical design and programming of computers and

computer systems. Short numerical tables. Issvied quarterly. Annual subscription: Domestic, $9.00; Foreign,

$11.25.

DIMENSIONS, NBS

The best single source of information concerning the Bureau's measurement, research, developmental, cooperative, and publication activities, this monthly

publication is designed for the layman and also for the industry-oriented individual whose daily work

involves intimate contact with science and technology —for engineers, chemists, physicists, research managers, product-development managers, and company

executives. Annual subscription: Domestic, $6.50; Foreign, $8.25.

NONPERIODICALS Applied Mathematics Series. Mathematical tables, manuals, and studies. Building Science Series. Research results, test methods, and performance criteria of building materials, components, systems, and structures. Handbooks. Recommended codes of engineering

and industrial practice (including safety codes) de- veloped in cooperation with interested industries, professional organizations, and regulatory bodies. Special • Publications. Proceedings of NBS conferences, bibliographies, annual reports, wall charts, pamphlets, etc. Monographs. Major contributions to the technical

literature on various subjects related to the Bureau's

scientific and technical activities. National Standard Reference Data Series.

NSRDS provides quantitative data on the physical

and chemical properties of materials, compiled from

the world's literature and critically evaluated. Product Standards. Provide requirements for sizes, types, quality, and methods for testing various industrial products. , These standards are developed co- operatively with interested Government and industry groups and provide the basis for common understanding of product characteristics for both buyers and

sellers. Their use is voluntary.

Technical Notes. This series consists of communications and reports (covering both other-agency and

NBS-sponsored work) of limited or transitory interest. Federal Information Processing Standards

Publications. This series is the official publication within the Federal Government for information on

standards adopted and promulgated under the Public Law 89-306, and Bureau of the Budget Circular A-86

entitled, Standardization of Data Elements and Codes

in Data Systems.

Consumer Information Series. Practical information, based on NBS research and experience, covering areas of interest to the consumer. Easily understandable language and illustrations provide useful background knowledge for shopping in today's tech- nological marketplace.

BIBLIOGRAPHIC SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES

The following current-awareness and literature-survey bibliographies are issued periodically by the Bureau

Cryogenic Data Center Current Awareness Service (Publications and Reports of Interest in Cryogenics).

A literature survey issued weekly. Annual subscription: Domestic, $20.00; foreign, $25.00.

Liquefied Natural Gas. A literature survey issued quarterly. Annual subscription: $20.00. Superconducting Devices and Materials. A literature survey issued quarterly. Annual subscription: $20.00. Send subscription orders and remittances for the preceding bibliographic services to the U.S. Department

of Commerce, National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Va. 22151. Electromagnetic Metrology Current Awareness Service (Abstracts of Selected Articles on Measurement

Techniques and Standards of Electromagnetic Quantities from D-C to Millimeter-Wave Frequencies) . Issued monthly. Annual subscription: $100.00 (Special rates for multi-subscriptions). Send subscription order and

remittance to the Electromagnetic Metrology Information Center, Electromagnetics Division, National Bureau

of Standards, Boulder, Colo. 80302. Order NBS publications (except Bibliographic Subscription Services)

from : Superintendent of Documents. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Bureau of Standards

Washington, D.C. 20234

OFFICIAL BUSINESS

Penalty for Private Use, S300

POSTAGE AND FEES PAID

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

COM-215

'^;-6-i9i^