LIVES and valuables at work-places or at home are exposed to serious harm if they become victims of an unwanted fire. In old days fire had been used as a means during wars for destroying the property and strength of the enemy. These days when equipments, tools, weapons and explosives have become more dangerous when used in wars, the safety of human lives has become more important.

Fire damages to human lives, property and valuables also result from flaming of textile and clothing. The public concern over the fire retarding textiles for the protection of human lives and property appeared in the form of legislation. An early example is seen in the USA. The Flammable Fabric Act, 1953, was the first major piece of such legislation.

A fire may break out at any place including houses, residential and commercial buildings, restaurants, cinemas, sports stadiums, jungles, industries and mills (particularly those like textile mills and industries where raw material or finished products are combustible) etc. In case of a fire there may be several reasons in relating to its initiation and propagation.

Statistics of fire harms to precious human lives had clearly indicated that textile products were significantly involved; clothing (including over-suit, undergarment, work wear, suiting etc), bed-sheets, floor coverings, upholstered textiles in seats, bedding, and home furnishing etc, are known textile products and are in closed contact, all the time, to all human being.

Since the textiles made from the natural fibres are flammable or combustible, they can provide a means in the initiation of fire. The real fire cases had shown that textile and clothing were the main items causing injury and death to human lives. The fire statistics in UK showed that 20 per cent of fires involved textiles as first ignited material, however, as a reason to fire casualities, textiles contributed 40 per cent.

In 1970s and 1980s, there were significant discussions on the textile flammability legislations in the USA and Western Europe. These were directed to control of fire hazards to lives and other valuables. The addressed subjects include UK upholstery furniture safety regulations, US textile legislation for clothing floor covering, bedding and protective clothing for automotive and aircraft, and Japanese regulations for flame-retardant textiles.

In 1988, these where 15,080 textile- implicated fires in UK, and textile related fires caused 4000 casualties and 495 deaths. The UK upholstery furniture safety regulations were also introduced in 1988 to exercise a control for reducing textile flammability hazards. The legislations employed in UK covers night-wear, upholstered furniture, and toys, and specify:

How products are to be tested for safety purposes and for evaluating performance; labelling for safe use and the nature of material used.

An equally important subject, along with the enforcements of legislation is the standard testing procedure designed for evaluating the degree or the level of flame retardancy offered by the product for general and for specific purposes.

A standard testing procedure usually incorporates the overall conditions that would be experienced by the textile item in real fire environment. Presently, several textile flammability testing procedures are available that can be used for a variety of textile products under specified application conditions. These products are apparel, upholstery, building materials, plastic toys, folding portable cots and car driving racing suits.

There are British standard flammability tests in the UK for products such as curtain, carpets and bedding but statutory legislation do not exist for the use of these products in domestic market.

It is a conventional practice that a retailer specifies a particular test to fulfil the requirements of safety and protection. The Consumer Protection Act 1975, UK requires that all products sold in UK must be fit for the purpose. In USA, Consumer Product Safety Act, 1972 designed to protect the public from hazardous products. The Consumer Safety Commission (CPSC), in conjunction with industry, has powers to produce standards for product testing to protect masses from hazards. This commission has recently amended the standard for the flammability of clothing textiles as originally issued in 1953.

This is a voluntary standard for assessing the flammability risk of clothing textiles in terms of the ease of ignition and the speed of flame spread. This standard is aimed to reduce danger of injury and loss of life by introducing—on national basis— methods of testing and rating the flammability of textile products used for clothing.

For public safety and protection, CPSC also releases safety tips for the occasions where fire ha.zards may exist, for example Christmas celebrations. About 300 Christmas tree fires occur annually, resulting in on average 10 deaths and 30 injuries involving loss of property around $10 million. There are 13,000 candle-related fires each year causing property loss of $205 million and 140 deaths. One of the safety tips advised to the public on last year (2004) Christmas was to purchase an artificial tree bearing the label ‘fire resistant’.

Fires usually breaks out in textile mills, particularly in spinning mills where fibres are received in the form of bales. T hese are often in the form of loose mass (fibre forms other than yarn or fabric, for example laps, sliver, roving) in various processing stages. The loose fibre mass is far more hazardous— relative to fabric— in terms of the fire propagation, following the fire catching.

In Pakistan, hundreds of textile product producing and supplying organizations (mills, industries, merchandisers) are operating with textile product storage facilities. A recent event of fire breaking in a textile mill (spinning and weaving of cotton) in Karachi highlighted the seriousness of risk factors associated with the textile flammability. The fire was in cotton bales, where 70,000 bales were gutted apart from the loss and damage to valuables. The effort consumed in overcoming the fire was enormous. The city fire tenders of Pakistan Navy, Karachi Port Trust, and Steel Mills were allied to combat fire along with the fire department. It took several days to put out come the fire.

Textile products in the form of clothing and furnishing are closely related to precious human lives and domestic animals. In the form of clothing, textiles are next to our skin and if combustible, as is the case with most natural fibre, may create the firing hazards to wearing person. However, they can protect the human body if possessing flame retarding properties, at least for a period of time that may be used for escaping efforts. This signifies the importance of measures for ensuring the textile flammability prevention. Moreover, the presence of large number of textile products supplying and processing organizations and the associated serious textile flammability hazards indicate the need for code on textile flammability.

There are legislations which address the health and safety aspects for work places in Pakistan Factories Act 1934. Chapter three is the main law governing the occupational health and safety. The Hazardous Occupational Rules of 1978 deal with certain occupations. The Mines Act 1923, Social Security Ordinance 1965, Workmen’s Compensation Act 19223, Shop and Establishment Ordinance 1969, and Dock Labourer Act 1934, are the laws relevant to the Occupational Health and Safety.

However, most of the laws are required to keep up with the pace of technologies and associated hazards, changing population, and cleaner environment aspects.

Cotton is not the only flammable textile item as all the natural fibres including silk, jute flax and their modified forms may catch and propagate fire. The textile processing in mills and industries, all over the country, mainly utilize natural fibre and their blends with nylon and polyester. These fibres are also used in clothing of people. Consequently, the risks associated with textiles flammability are significantly prevailing in our lives, both at home and work. Following measures are necessary reducing and eliminating such risk:

Voluntarily standards for exercising flame retardancy on textile clothing.

Particular emphasis on providing flame retardant clothing for those having reduced capability for escaping efforts, for example children and senior citizens.

Workers awareness for the occupational hazards of textile flammability.

Review of rule making on consumer product safety.

Installation of effective fire detection and prevention systems, mainly for the storage facilities.