There has never been a wider range of fire retardant fabrics and all care homes should make sure that fire retardant soft furnishings are an integral part of their safety provision, says Christine Willis, managing director, Furnish
We were all shocked by the events at Grenfell Tower – the speed at which the building was engulfed by flames, leaving little time for or means of escape and resulting in such a huge loss of life. It was a sombre reminder of the sheer speed and force with which fire can devastate.
Fire is an even greater risk in care home environments where residents are less agile, more susceptible to confusion and less able to respond quickly in the event of an emergency. This is just one of the reasons why there are different domestic and commercial standards for soft furnishings.
Should a fire break out - and there were 120 accidental fires in care homes in London alone last year1- fire retardant soft furnishings can buy valuable time. In less than two minutes, untreated curtains and furnishings can become the source of a major life threatening fire while a fire around a treated fabric would still be at a manageable level.
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