Serta to Senate: FR sells well
By David Perry -- Furniture Today, August 2, 2004
Washington — Serta's Al Klancnik, the only bedding industry representative who testified last week at a Senate committee hearing on the flammability of home furnishings products, said his company has achieved success with its new fire-resistant bedding lines.
"Since last October, when we began introducing our open-flame resistant products, we have sold approximately two million safer mattresses and box springs to consumers across the country," he told the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.
The committee held a hearing on the American Home Fire Safety Act, a bill introduced by Sen. Fritz Hollings (D-S.C.) and eight co-sponsors. That bill calls for a tough 60-minute mattress burn test, twice the length of the test required by California's new mattress flammability law. It also calls for new standards for upholstered furniture, candles and bedding.
Klancnik, group vice president of Serta, said that earlier work done on mattress flammability testing found that a 30-minute test and a 200-kilowatt heat threshold "had sound scientific data to support that the test was attainable and replicable by manufacturers. More importantly, it will result in products that provide the critical time people need to detect and escape from a bedroom fire."
He said the research found "no scientific data" showing a longer test would result in improved safety.
Serta has "demonstrated the technology exists to manufacture and market mattresses that can help save lives today," Klancnik said.
He encouraged the committee to let the U.S. Consumer Safety Product Commission adopt the California standard as the federal mattress open-flame regulation.
Hollings was encouraged by Serta's progress and views, an aide to the senator said. "It's always encouraging to have real-life examples of companies doing the right thing and getting credit for doing so," the aide said. At the hearing, Hollings praised Serta.
The senator was also pleased to learn of the progress made by CPSC on national home furnishings flammability standards, the aide said.
Speaking in favor of the proposed Senate bill was John Dean, vice president of the National Assn. of State Fire Marshals, who said Congress shouldn't wait for CPSC to develop new FR standards for upholstered furniture and mattresses.
"At best," he said, "the CPSC will require years more to finish the job. While we wait, thousands more will die and be injured. Congressional action is necessary now."
Also testifying was Andy Counts, CEO of the American Furniture Manufacturers Assn., who said CPSC is best equipped to resolve flammability issues. He noted a growing consensus surrounding AFMA's approach to the furniture flammability issue.
The bedding industry's trade association, the International Sleep Products Assn., wasn't invited to present oral testimony at the hearing. An ISPA official submitted a written statement to the committee opposing the Hollings bill and supporting CPSC's work on a national mattress flammability standard.
