1

0

1

Update on Consumer Fire SafetyConsumer electronics and Upholstered Furniture

Presentation by Robert GrahamExecutive Director of the

Alliance for Consumer Fire Safety in Europe(ACFSE)

7th EFA Roundtable11-12 September 2008

2

18

1. ACFSE Consumer Electronics Campaign

3

03

Flatscreen burn, The Hague, 3rd AprilConducted by The Hague Fire Brigade• Objectives:

To raise consumer awareness – particularly in run-up to Olympic Games & European Football Championship;

To put pressure on remaining OEMs to follow leadership of Philips, Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba

To demonstrate need for action to regulators currently considering introducing higher fire safety requirements for TVs sold in Europe.

• Outcome: Performance of “good TVs” as expected “Bad TV” on fire within minutes No flashover; Significant smoke development Good media coverage Response from Samsung

4

13

EUROPE• Higher fire safety standard for TVs has been adopted • As of 2010, TV manufacturers in Europe will have to show compliance with this higher requirement

GLOBAL• Higher fire safety requirement for TVs was rejected by standard setters• Initiative to introduce “harmonised standard” to reflect merging of consumer electronics and IT equipmentACFSE Position:• There is a increase of E&E equipment in the domestic environment • It doesn’t matter what the appliance does: fire safety against accidental external ignition needs to be ensured

>300gr• Therefore ACFSE is pursuing its engagement

Standardisation work

5

18

2. ACFSE Upholstered Furniture Campaign

6

19

Objective: • Demonstrate need to decrease fire hazard of upholstered furnitureOutcome:• Continental EU sofa ignited within seconds• Flashover after less than 3 minutes• UK Sofa resists ignitionNext steps:• Explore possibilities to present issue to EU Committee

on General Product Safety and its National Members• We will need your help!

Upholstered furniture burn, Delft, 30 June

7

18

Conclusion• We can increase domestic fire safety through our work• We need to continue to raise awareness of the fire

hazard of domestic consumer products

Fire Safety should be at the top of the EU agenda

More info on www.acfse.org