Modern Furniture Materials and Open Floor Plans Are Making House Fires Worse

If you’re in the market for a new couch or a kitchen table, you might want to take a closer look at what it’s made of before buying it. Manufacturers are using more plastics and other petroleum-based products to produce much of the cheaper, lighter furniture available these days, and those can make fires burn faster and more intensely, leading fire experts to sound the alarm.

Firefighters in Las Vegas, Nevada, echoed that warning this week in the wake of a deadly house fire that killed four people. Despite responding within five minutes of receiving the call, the fire department was unable to get through the front door because of the heat, according to a report from KSNV News in Las Vegas.

“It’s not unheard of for a fire to go that quickly,” an official with the fire department told the local news. “Fires, especially in modern homes, with modern finishes, that burn very hot.”

Rather than natural fabrics, much upholstery found on furniture today is polyester fabric covering up cushions made of polyurethane foam. Lighter and cheaper tables, bookcases, television stands, etc. are often made from synthetic materials, too. And you’ll find plenty of other plastics, resins and other synthetic materials in everything from picture frames to electronics. Together, these materials make fires move much faster and burn as much as eight times hotter than in homes just a generation ago.

In addition to intensifying the heat from a fire and burning faster, those synthetic materials create more smoke than natural materials and contain toxic carcinogens. Smoke builds up faster as these materials burn, and the chemicals it contains stick around long after the flames have been extinguished.

In 2020, the Fire Safety Research Institute conducted an updated demonstration of just how quick and intense house fires can be because of these materials, an updated version of the test conducted by the FSRI in 2009. The FSRI did a side-by-side comparison lighting two, equally-sized rooms with nearly a identical setup, except one room contained furnishings made primarily from synthetic materials and the other using furniture made from natural materials to demonstrate the flashover times for each one. (FSRI defines flashover as “the transition phase in the development of a room fire in which fuel surfaces, exposed to thermal radiation from fire gases in excess of 600 degrees C (approximately 1100 degrees F), reach ignition almost simultaneously and fire spreads rapidly through the space.”)

In five different tests, the room containing furnishing made with natural materials reached flashpoint in just under 30 minutes, versus less than five minutes for the room setup with synthetic furnishings. In one trial, the room with synthetic furnishings reached the flashpoint in three minutes and 20 seconds. You can see the video of the experiment below.

Another risk factor common in modern homes is the open floor plan. With fewer barriers between rooms, fires are less contained because they’re not compartmentalized. Flames and smoke spread much faster when they ignite in larger, open areas. It also makes it harder for firefighters to control the fire.

Fire Safety

Understandably, it’s hard to avoid synthetic materials in your home entirely, and going out and replacing all of your furnishings in one swoop isn’t realistic for most of us. But there are steps you can take to help keep you safe.

Smoke detectors: Firefighters and fire safety experts all stress the importance of having working smoke detectors throughout your home. At a minimum, you should have a smoke alarm on every level of your house. It’s also a good idea to have one in each bedroom and one in any hallways that sleeping areas open into. Be sure to test your smoke alarms regularly and change the batteries twice a year, unless it’s hardwired.

Escape plan: Make sure you have fire escape plan with well-defined escape routes. You may need to plan different escape paths for different bedrooms and parts of the home. And make sure everyone in the house knows the escape plan and understands what to do in case of an emergency.

Fire-protected furniture: If you are looking for new furniture, curtains, etc., read and understand the label. Look for natural materials or fire-protected furniture. You can also look for products made under the Upholstered Furniture Action Council (UFAC) program or that meet the requirements laid out by the California Bureau of Home Furnishings.

Avoid fire risks: Be aware of the fire hazards in your home and take steps to avoid them. That includes measures like turning off space heaters when you’re not in the room with them and keeping them away from curtains, clothing, bedding, etc. Space heaters are one of the most common causes of house fires in the United States. You should also be aware of hazards like unprotected outlets and overloaded circuits, things than can cause electrical fires in your home.