I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4233

To provide for comprehensive fire safety standards for upholstered furniture, 

mattresses, bedclothing, and candles. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 28, 2004

Mrs. CAPITO introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL

To provide for comprehensive fire safety standards for 

upholstered furniture, mattresses, bedclothing, and candles.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘American Home Fire 

5 Safety Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find8 ings: 
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1 (1) There were 12,800 candle fires in 1998, re2 sulting in 170 deaths, 1,200 civilian injuries, and 

3 $174,600,000 in property damage. 

4 (2) In 1998, mattress and bedding fires caused 

5 410 deaths, 2,260 civilian injuries, and 

6 $255,400,000 in property damage. 

7 (3) The United States mattress industry has a 

8 long history of working closely with safety officials 

9 to reduce mattress flammability. For the past 25 

10 years, mattresses have been subject to a Federal 

11 flammability standard that requires mattresses to 

12 resist ignition by smoldering cigarettes. 

13 (4) Nevertheless, in 1998, fires involving mat14 tresses and bedding accessories (which include pil15 lows, comforters, and bedspreads) caused 410 

16 deaths, 2,260 civilian injuries, and $255,400,000 in 

17 property damage. 

18 (5) In many such fires, the bedding accessories 

19 are the first products to ignite. Such products have 

20 a material impact on the fire’s intensity, duration, 

21 and the risk that the fire will spread beyond the 

22 room of origin. 

23 (6) Upholstered furniture fires were responsible 

24 for 520 deaths in 1998, with little statistical change 

25 in the number of fires and deaths since 1994. 
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1 (7) While the fire death rates for upholstered 

2 furniture fires have dropped during the period 1982 

3 through 1994 for both California and the entire Na4 tion, death rates in California, which has stricter 

5 standards, have dropped by a larger percentage than 

6 the nation as a whole. 

7 (8) Children, the elderly, and lower income fam8 ilies are at higher risk of death and injury from up9 holstered furniture fires caused primarily by the in10 creasing incidents of children playing with matches, 

11 candles, lighters, or other small open flames. 

12 (9) In view of the increased incidents of fire, it 

13 is important for Congress to establish fire safety 

14 standards for candles, mattresses, bed clothing, and 

15 upholstered furniture. 

16 (10) The Consumer Product Safety Commission 

17 is the appropriate agency to develop and enforce 

18 such standards. 

19 (11) The Environmental Protection Agency 

20 should continue to review and determine the suit21 ability of any materials used to meet any fire safety 

22 standard established as a result of this Act. 

23 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—
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1 (1) to protect the public against death and in2 jury from fires associated with candles, mattresses, 

3 bed clothing, and upholstered furniture; and 

4 (2) to require the Consumer Product Safety 

5 Commission to develop and issue comprehensive uni6 form safety standards to reduce the flammability of 

7 candles, mattresses, bed clothing, and upholstered 

8 furniture. 

9 SEC. 3. CONSUMER PRODUCT FIRE SAFETY STANDARDS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Within 90 days after the date of 

11 enactment of this Act, the Consumer Product Safety Com12 mission shall promulgate, as final consumer product safety 

13 standards under section 9 of the Consumer Product Safety 

14 Act (15 U.S.C. 2058), the following fire safety standards: 

15 (1) UPHOLSTERED FURNITURE.—A fire safety 

16 standard for upholstered furniture that is substan17 tially the same as the provisions of Technical Bul18 letin 117, ‘‘Requirements, Test Procedure and Appa19 ratus for Testing the Flame and Smolder Resistance 

20 of Upholstered Furniture’’, published by the State of 

21 California, Department of Consumer Affairs, Bureau 

22 of Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation, Feb23 ruary 2002. 

24 (2) MATTRESSES.—A fire safety standard for 

25 mattresses that is substantially the same as Tech-
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1 nical Bulletin 603, ‘‘Requirements and Test Proce2 dure for Resistance of a Residential Mattress/Box 

3 Spring Set to a Large Open Flame’’, published by 

4 the State of California, Department of Consumer 

5 Affairs, Bureau of Home Furnishings and Thermal 

6 Insulation, February 2003. 

7 (3) BEDCLOTHING.—A fire safety standard for 

8 bedclothing that is substantially the same as the Oc9 tober 22, 2003, draft for task force review of Tech10 nical Bulletin 604, ‘‘Test Procedure and Apparatus 

11 for the Flame Resistance of Filled Bedclothing’’, 

12 published by the State of California, Department of 

13 Consumer Affairs, Bureau of Home Furnishings and 

14 Thermal Insulation, October, 2003. 

15 (4) CANDLES.—A fire safety standard for can16 dles that is substantially the same as Provisional 

17 Standard PS 59–02, ‘‘Provisional Specification for 

18 Fire Safety for Candles’’, ASTM International, as 

19 that provisional standard existed on the date of en20 actment of this Act. 

21 (b) APPLICATION OF CERTAIN PROMULGATION RE22 QUIREMENTS.—The requirements of subsections (a) 

23 through (f) of section 9 of the Consumer Product Safety 

24 Act (15 U.S.C. 2058), and section 36 of that Act (15 

25 U.S.C. 2083), do not apply to the consumer product safety 
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1 standards required to be promulgated by subsection (a) 

2 of this section.

Æ