Kids Safety Bulletin Dangerous Furniture   by Don C. Keenan

There are some things in our home we may not think of as being dangerous.  When we buy furniture, for example, we are mostly thinking of color schemes, comfort, and fashion.  We rarely think of how safe the furniture is.  Unfortunately, some children’s furniture can be the most flammable.  Consider the following statistics:

• Upholstered furniture fires are the leading cause of residential fire deaths, according to one report by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
  
  
• Approximately 15 to 25 percent of all civilian fire fatalities are caused by upholstered furniture fires.

Here are some things you can do to keep your child safe:

1.  Do not have any non-fire retardant furniture in your child’s bedroom – Children do not have the same reaction skills as adults.  If a fire originates in a child’s bedroom, there is a good chance that the child will suffer injuries.

2.  Do not use non-fire-retardant pillows – Many parents make the mistake of having fire-retardant upholstered furniture and then placing a non-fire-retardant pillow or extra cushion on the furniture.

3.  Teach your children what to do in an emergency – route a fire escape plan with a few different escape options and routinely practice with your children.  The more prepared they are for a fire, the better their reactions will be if one occurs.

4.  Install fire detectors and check them at least twice a year. 

Don Keenan, founder of the Keenan’s Kids Foundation, has published a book on kid’s safety titled, 365 Ways to Keep Kids Safe, which is available at www.balloonpress.com or at www.amazon.com .   Proceeds benefit the Keenan’s Kids Foundation.  

This article originally published on February 13, 2008.

Written by :

mkwestmark

 

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