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Standards for Improved Fire Safety of Mattresses - Notice to Hospitals

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Contact: Marketed Health Products Directorate (MHPD)

The Health Products and Food Branch (HPFB) posts on the Health Canada web site safety alerts, public health advisories, press releases and other notices as a service to health professionals, consumers, and other interested parties. These advisories may be prepared with Directorates in the HPFB which includes pre-market and post-market areas as well as market authorization holders and other stakeholders. Although the HPFB grants market authorizations or licenses for therapeutic products, we do not endorse either the product or the company. Any questions regarding product information should be discussed with your health professional.

Notice to Hospitals
Health Canada Issued Important Safety Information on Standards For
Improved Fire Safety of Mattresses

April 1, 2009

To:

Hospital Administrators
Nursing Home Administrators
Hospital Risk Managers
Hospital Biomedical Engineering Departments
Provincial Hospital Associations
Canadian Healthcare Association
Provincial Health Ministries

Please distribute to the relevant departments, and other involved professional staff and post this Notice in your institution.

Subject: Standards for Improved Fire Safety of Mattresses

In July, 2007, the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) implemented a new standard for open flame testing of mattresses that is mandatory for all mattresses manufactured, renovated or imported into the United States¹.

The open flame test requirements of the US CPSC standard are widely regarded as an effective additional fire safety specification to make mattresses and box springs (mattress sets) safer in case of a fire. The goal of the standard is to minimize flammability when a mattress is ignited in a fire. Mattresses that meet the standard will make only a limited contribution to a fire, especially in the early stages of the fire. This will allow occupants more time to discover the fire and escape.

Underwriters' Laboratories of Canada (ULC) has published a new voluntary standard, CAN/ULC-S137, titled Standard Method of Test for Fire Growth of Mattresses (Open Flame Test)², which is harmonized with the US CPSC standard. Some Canadian mattress manufacturers who export their products to the US are already in compliance with the US CPSC standard.

Hospital Beds

Mattresses designed expressly for hospital beds are deemed to be medical devices. There are no standards in Canada for flammability of hospital bed mattresses. However, the Medical Devices Bureau of Health Canada believes that conformance with the US CPSC standard and/or CAN/ULC-S137 will provide improved assurance of fire safety for hospital bed mattresses as well.

Recommendation

Health Canada recommends that when purchasing new mattresses, health care facilities consider those that comply with flammability standards CAN/ULC-S137 Standard method of test for fire growth of mattresses (open flame test) and/or the US CPSC Standard for the Flammability (Open Flame) of Mattress Sets.

Managing marketed health product-related adverse incidents depends on health care professionals and consumers reporting them. Reporting rates determined on the basis of spontaneously reported post-marketing adverse incidents are generally presumed to underestimate the risks associated with health product treatments. Any cases of serious or unexpected adverse incidents in patients using hospital bed mattresses and other medical devices should be reported to market authorization holder or to Health Canada at the following address:

References:
1. United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Standard for the Flammability (Open Flame) of Mattress Sets, 16 CFR, Part 1633, March 15, 2006.
http://www.cpsc.gov/businfo/frnotices/fr06/mattsets.pdf

2. Underwriters’ Laboratories of Canada, Standard method of test for fire growth of mattresses (open flame test).
http://www.ulc.ca/About_ulc/news_detail.asp?News_ID=118