Kay Lancaster wrote:

Safe flannel? You mean that stuff that bursts into flame at the
slightest hint of a spark?

YES! You make an important point, Tom! Lots of people don't realise how
dangerous flannel (or, as we in Oz call it, 'flannelette') is! The
fluffy nap is so easy to catch flame and the layer of oxygen that makes
the fabric a warm one is what feeds the fire. Mind you, it's hard to
know what *is* the safest fabric for children's sleepwear: synthetic
fabrics melt and 'outgas' while natural ones smoulder and then flame.
It's interesting to note that the 'danger' component doesn't really come
into play while the child is actually *sleeping* in the garment: it's in
the time before bed that vigilance is needed.


And flannel is made more flammable by use of fabric softener: e.g.
http://tinyurl.com/5hcoz
http://tinyurl.com/69u8n


No fabric is perfectly safe and hardly any are outright dangerous. The
key factor in most cases is for the parents to observe how warm or
cool it is and ensure that the child is wearing it when appropriate.


Actually, there is a good fiber for safety that's easily available:
wool. Though it will burn when there's flame applied to it, it's self-
extinguishing. Also stinks enough to give some warning. Now if y'all in
Oz can just get enough wool production going from that flock that has
almost microfiber-fine wool... g

Wool is fine unless you are allergic to it, which both James and I are.

Texture also plays into fire safety. A loopy or napped or very thin fabric
will have enough oxygen around it to easily support flame, while it's tougher
to get a tightly woven fabric of the same fiber to catch. Lace and ribbon
can be problematic, too. Fit also counts: loose stuff (like my beloved
cotton flannel nightgowns) are a bigger fire safety hazard than, say,
closely fitting knit cotton long underwear. Baggy long underwear worn
as pjs, though, are nearly as bad as my flannel nightgown.

Naked flames are the real danger with all these fabrics. Yes, hot
things like toasters and solid cooker rings will set things on fire, but
it takes more effort!

Here are the Consumer Products Safety Commission regs summarized for
commercial sleepwear, up to 6x size:
http://www.cpsc.gov/businfo/regsumsleepwear.pdf

Older kids need some care too (and adults!). One of my young nephews caught
his cotton terrycloth bathrobe sleeve on fire reaching across a toaster. He
was too shocked to do anything. His younger brother, who's often in a world
of his own, started yelling "stop, drop and roll", shoved him down on the
floor and extinguished the fire. Could have been much more hurt than
dignity that time.

Cooking in this house is done over gas flames, but long hair is tied
back and sleeves are tight fitting and rolled up or short for cooking.
The toaster lives in the cupboard and is only brought out when wanted,
when it sits on the work top in the kitchen with only the wall behind it.

Then there are the really dumb moments in life. I had a cat who was
about the intelligence of Kate's Cornflake. The cats were *never*
allowed on the kitchen counter, but this one jumped up to see what I was
doing, and stuck his tail under a pot on the gas stove. Lit burner of
course. Soon, a lit tail. I grabbed him and stuck his tail in the
dishwater... no harm, but he acted like I'd dipped him in cat solvent. g

Kay


Cat solvent! Ouch, that made my face ache with the giggles! But I do
know what you mean. Kitties are not permitted on work surfaces here,
and Cornflake may be thick as tar, but he has a reasonable grasp of what
I won't allow, and has never tried to get up there. Sugar Puff, on the
other hand, is just so nosy that she has tried. Not often, as she isn't
fond of flying lessons!

--
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Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk
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