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Furniture Fire

• Furniture Fire Multi-Million Dollar Settlement
• Flammable Furniture Information

Burn Injuries Attorneys: Funiture Fire Settlement
At Pritzker | Ruohonen we know the devastating consequences of upholstered furniture fires. We recently obtained one of the nation’s largest settlements for victims of an upholstered furniture fire.

Here’s what happened. Shortly after seven in the morning, a young father left for work. His three children and their mother were asleep. Although no one knows for sure, it’s believed that one of the youngsters got up early and began playing with a butane lighter. He touched the lighter to the newly-purchased upholstered sofa. In a second it ignited. In a few more moments it was in flames and toxic smoke poured into the small apartment. Within fewer than five minutes gas and super-heated air overcame the mother and her children. She and her oldest son died. The little girl suffered a severe brain injury and will require 24-hour care for the rest of her life. The youngest boy suffered respiratory injuries but eventually made a full recovery.

With our help, the family received a settlement of almost $3,000,000, but no amount of money can ever replace what they lost. One of the reasons we were able to obtain such a large settlement is because we have extensive experience with brain injury cases.

If you were injured or a loved one was injured or killed in a furniture fire, a lawyer at Pritzker | Ruohonen is available for a free consultation.  To contact a lawyer please call toll-free at 1-888-377-8900 or submit the firm's online consultation form.

Burn Injuries Attorneys Provide Information on Furniture Fire Prevention

Notice: – The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has recently approved new flammability standards for mattresses. When fully effective, the CPSC estimates that the new mandatory mattress standard is likely to save as many as 270 lives every year. The new federal standard for mattresses goes into effect on July 1, 2007.

The burn injuries attorneys at Pritzker | Ruohonen are dedicated to providing the public with information on furniture fires in an effort to prevent devastating fires. Unless you’ve seen flammability tests, you cannot imagine the lethality of an upholstered furniture fire. Here’s a sobering fact: Each day two people die as a result of residential furniture fires. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 55 people die per month in fires where upholstered furniture is the first item ignited. Sources of ignition include cigarettes, matches, lighters and candles.

The sad thing is that prison inmates have safer furniture than most households. That’s because furniture safety standards are tougher for institutions than they are for households. California is the only state to require similar protection for domestic furniture. The lack of a national safety standard is a shocking example of Congressional indifference in the face of a national calamity.

Here’s what the National Association of State Fire Marshals has to say about this menace lurking in most homes:

• Consumers need to know their furniture is flammable. The foam used in cushions is shipped to furniture manufacturers with warnings that include language like this: FLAMMABLE! If ignited, polyurethane foam can burn rapidly, releasing great heat and consuming oxygen. The resulting deficiency of oxygen will present a danger of SUFFOCATION AND DEATH to the occupants.
  
• Furniture manufacturers have refused to warn consumers about the dangers of their products. They also have refused to voluntarily take simple measures to make their products less flammable. Only a handful of furniture retailers sell products that meet the California standards nationwide.

There are some things you can do to protect your family. Here are upholstered furniture safety tips from the NASFM:

• Most cigarette fires involve dropping a hot cigarette on upholstered furniture, beds or clothing. A lit cigarette can smolder for 20-30 minutes before igniting anything. Check furniture where smokers have been sitting for unintentionally dropped smoking materials.
  
• Never smoke reclining in upholstered furniture or in bed.
  
• Provide large, deep ashtrays for smokers, and place ashtrays on sturdy surfaces. Do not place ashtrays on the arms of furniture, where they can be knocked over.
  
• The combination of smoking and drinking alcohol can be fatal. Keep an eye on intoxicated smokers.
  
• Keep lighters and matches out of sight and reach of children, preferably in a locked cabinet. Teach children that when they find a lighter or matches they should give them to an adult. Use child-resistant lighters.
  
• Be sure space heaters are at least three feet away from upholstered furniture, drapes and everything else.
  
• Do not allow furniture to come into contact with halogen lamps or any electrical appliance.
  
• Demand furniture that complies with California Bureau of Home Furnishings Technical Bulletin 117 standards when purchasing upholstered pieces for your home. Outside of California, you have to ask for it specially. This should not cost any extra.

In California, furniture is required to comply with flammability safety standard Technical Bulletin 117. But many furniture manufacturers choose not to comply with those safety standards for furniture sold outside of California. The following national retailers have stated to the National Association of State Fire Marshals that they sell only upholstered furniture compliant with the California Bureau of Home Furnishings Technical Bulletin 117 safety standards:

• HomeLife Furniture
  
• IKEA
  
• JC Penney
  
• Norwalk Furniture
  
• Rowe
  
• Spiegel
  
• Harden Furniture
  
• La-Z-Boy Residential
  
• Macy’s West (in Arizona, California, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas)

At Pritzker | Ruohonen & Associates, we know what you are going through. We’ve helped many, many people in your situation put their lives back together. We’re ready when you are.

Read more information on fires and explosions provided by Minneapolis, Minnesota, burn injuries lawyers. We serve clients throughout the United States.