A review of fire accidents, flammability and toxicity of burning textiles

Abstract

The effect of fire and its products (heat, smoke and irritant or toxic gases) on the human being, as well as the response of people in a fire situation, are reviewed. Some data on the causes of fire injuries are given and the factors causing injury or death in a fire are discussed. Open flame and smoking are the main causes of fire and in the most cases textile products are the primary agent ignited. Only about one-third of all deaths caused by fire are the direct results of burns, while two thirds are caused by toxic gases liberated by fire. The products formed by the combustion of textile fibres and the relative toxicity rating of a number of textiles are discussed in this paper..