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Statement of Need: For 2001-2003, an annual average of approximately 4,000 residential fires in which upholstered furniture was the first item to ignite resulted in an estimated 330 deaths, 580 civilian injuries, and about $115 million in property damage that could be addressed by a flammability standard. The total annual societal cost attributable to these upholstered furniture fire losses was approximately $1.9 billion. This total includes fires ignited by small open-flame sources and cigarettes.

Summary of the Legal Basis: Section 4 of the Flammable Fabrics Act (FFA) (15 U.S.C. 1193) authorizes the Commission to issue a flammability standard or other regulation for a product of interior furnishing if the Commission determines that such a standard is "needed to adequately protect the public against unreasonable risk of the occurrence of fire leading to death or personal injury, or significant property damage." The Commission's regulatory proceeding could result in several actions, one of which could be the development of a mandatory standard requiring that upholstered furniture sold in the United States meet mandatory labeling requirements, resist ignition, or meet other performance criteria under test conditions specified in the standard.

Alternatives: (1) The Commission could issue a mandatory flammability standard if the Commission finds that such a standard is needed to address an unreasonable risk of the occurrence of fire from ignition of upholstered furniture; (2) the Commission could issue mandatory requirements for labeling of upholstered furniture, in addition to, or as an alternative to, the requirements of a mandatory flammability standard; and (3) the Commission could terminate the proceeding for development of a flammability standard and rely on a voluntary standard if a voluntary standard would adequately address the risk of fire and substantial compliance with such a standard is likely to result.

Anticipated Costs and Benefits: The estimated annual cost of imposing a mandatory standard to address ignition of upholstered furniture will depend upon the test requirements imposed by the standard and the steps manufacturers take to meet those requirements. Again, depending upon the test requirements, a standard may reduce cigarette and small open flame-ignited fire losses, the annual societal cost of which was $1.9 billion for 2001-2003. Thus, the potential benefits of a mandatory standard to address the risk of ignition of upholstered furniture could be significant, even if the standard did not prevent all such fires.

Risks: The estimated average annual cost to society from all residential fires associated with upholstered furniture was $1.9 billion for 2001-2003. Societal costs associated with upholstered furniture fires are among the highest associated with any product subject to the Commission's authority. A standard has the potential to reduce these societal costs.