a. On February 25, 2000, a residential fire in Roxbury, New Jersey, led to the death of 14-month-old toddler Matthew Albrecht. The fire started when a spark from an electrical outlet caused a mattress to ignite. Four days later, Matthew succumbed to the irreversible damage caused by smoke inhalation. This unfortunate tragedy, and many others, could have been prevented by adopting stricter flammability standards for mattresses and box springs for sale in this State.

b. Mattresses and bedding are implicated in thousands of fires each year, causing thousands of injuries, hundreds of fatalities, and millions of dollars in property damage. Residential fires involving mattresses and other bedding are in fact more aggressive and deadly than other types of residential fires. The United States Fire Administration estimates that mattress and bedding fires cause more than twice the number of injuries and deaths than other types of residential fires.

c. Federal law currently requires that mattresses sold in the United States meet the “Standards for the Flammability of Mattresses and Mattress Pads,” 16 C.F.R. part 1632. The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission recently approved a new federal standard that also will require mattresses to resist open-flame ignitions from lighters, matches, and candles. This new federal standard will be known as the “Standard for the Flammability (Open Flame) of Mattress Sets,” (16 C.F.R. part 1633). The new federal standard is patterned on a standard set by the State of California, codified in California Technical Bulletin 603, “Requirements and Test Procedure for Resistance of a Mattress/Box Spring Set to a Large Open-Flame.”

d. The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that 16 C.F.R. part 1633 will prevent up to 78 percent of current addressable mattress fire-related deaths and up to 84 percent of current addressable related injuries. In its exhaustive cost-benefit analysis of this standard, the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission concluded that the societal benefits from this standard substantially outweigh its costs.

e. 16 C.F.R. part 1633 requires that a mattress be subjected to a specified 30-minute flammability test. During that test:

(1) the total heat release during the first 10 minutes of the test may not exceed 15 megajoules; and

(2) the peak heat release for the full 30-minute test may not exceed 200 kW.

Part 1633 also requires that a mattress undergo certain prototype testing and that the mattress producer maintain certain testing, quality assurance and manufacturing records. Part 1633 allows consumers to order non-fire-retardant mattresses if pursuant to a doctor’s order such a mattress is needed to treat or manage a person‘s physical illness or injury.

f. Given the national scope of the mattress manufacturing and retailing industries, it is necessary that uniform national requirements for the fire performance of mattresses be set. For this reason, New Jersey intends for the requirements in this State for the fire performance of mattresses be identical to those required in 16 C.F.R. part 1633.

L.2007, c.141, s.1.