80% Respondents Answer "Don't Know" About Their Mattress Fire Resistance Performance

Simmons Bed Announces Results of 'Residential Fire Awareness Survey'

Results of the 'Awareness Survey on Residential Space Fires' conducted by Simmons targeting 1,200 adult men and women nationwide.
[Graphic=Simmons]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] Amid ongoing large and small residential fires during the winter season, it has been revealed that 8 out of 10 people do not know whether the mattress they are currently using has flame-retardant properties.

Sleep specialist brand Simmons announced the results on the 11th of a "Residential Fire Awareness Survey" conducted by polling 1,200 men and women aged 20 to 59 nationwide through the public opinion research firm Embrain Public. Simmons had also surveyed public awareness of everyday fires in 2019 to raise fire safety awareness and contribute to establishing a fire safety culture in daily life.

The survey showed that only 20% of respondents knew whether the mattress they currently use at home has flame-retardant performance. Eight out of ten respondents (80.8%) had no idea whether their mattress was flame-retardant or not.

Flame-retardant mattresses help prevent fire from spreading to surrounding areas and allow embers to naturally extinguish slowly. Thanks to this, they prevent the "flashover" phenomenon, where fire explosively spreads throughout the entire room, and contribute to securing the golden time for fire suppression and ensuring firefighters’ safe rescue operations.

However, very few respondents understood the relationship between flashover and the golden time. When asked if they knew that "flame-retardant mattresses help prevent flashover and secure golden time during a fire," 83.6% answered that they did not know. Notably, 3 out of 4 respondents (75.7%) did not even know the concept of flashover, which causes large-scale fires and casualties, indicating a lack of basic fire knowledge.

Across all age groups, awareness of the high fire risk in bedrooms among residential spaces was also found to be lacking. When asked "Which area in the residence do you think is most prone to fire?" 90.5% answered "kitchen," followed by 3.7% for "living room." Only 2.5% answered "bedroom."

According to the Fire Statistics Yearbook by the National Fire Agency, the average annual number of deaths caused by fire accidents over the past five years (2015?2019) was 312, with bedrooms accounting for the highest proportion at an average of 70 deaths, or 22.4% of the total.

Additionally, an analysis by the National Fire Agency of property damage caused by initial ignition sources from November 1, 2019, to October 31, 2020, showed that fires starting from "beds and mattresses" resulted in an average property damage cost of approximately 78 million KRW per case, significantly higher than the second-ranked "sofa," which averaged about 12 million KRW per case.

A Simmons representative stated, "The bedroom is the most comfortable living space, but it is also vulnerable due to insufficient prevention measures. When a fire occurs, it can cause fatal human and property damage, so awareness must be heightened. Simmons is the only domestic company that has developed and patented flame-retardant mattresses, and we will continue various public interest activities to raise fire safety awareness."

Meanwhile, Simmons was the first and only company in Korea to launch a flame-retardant mattress in 2018 and obtained a patent last year. Simmons flame-retardant mattresses apply the independently developed "Maximum Safety Padding," which is resistant to fire. This helps prevent the flashover phenomenon, where flames rapidly spread indoors, aiding in securing the golden time for occupants and ensuring firefighter safety during the early stages of a fire.