- Author
- Levin, B. C. | Paabo, M. | Fultz, M. L. | Bailey, C. S.
- Title
- Conditions Conductive to the Generation of Hydrogen Cyanide From Flexible Polyurethane Foam.
- Coporate
- National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg, MD
- Report
- NBSIR 85-3118,
- Distribution
- Available from National Technical Information Service
- Book or Conf
- National Bureau of Standards. 7th Joint Panel Meeting of the UJNR Panel on Fire Research and Safety. October 24-28, 1983, Gaithersburg, MD, 447-470 p., ['1983', '1985']
- Keywords
- hydrogen cyanides | occupants
- Abstract
- The greatest number of fire deaths in the United States results from fires which occur in one and two family residences. While the initiation of most U.S. fires are attributed to heating and cooking accidents, those fires responsible for the largest percentage of fire deaths are initiated by cigarettes inadvertently discarded on soft furnishings, such as upholstered furniture and bedding materials. Similar results have been found in Canada and the U.K. One of the scenarios leading to these fire deaths is envisioned as follows: the occupant falls asleep with a lit cigarette which drops into the crevice of a chair where it smolders for an undetermined length of time. The person may wake during this time and go to bed not realizing the cigarette is still smoldering in the chair crevice. The unsuspecting family may be asleep when the chair finally ignites causing a fire which can now spread and produce flashover conditions in the room. In many of these cases, the family members die from smoke inhalation (not burn) either in their beds or close to their beds, an indication of little or no effort to escape. Whether the occupants are incapacitated or killed by the toxic combustion products which are generated by the early smoldering conditions or those generated when the chair burst into flames is unknown.