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Posted By John Malone
Several guidance documents advise that Christmas decorations and artificial trees should be "fire retardant". But I can find no definition or standard for determining this.
If the manufacturer (in China) asserts on the packaging that an article is "fire retardant" is this sufficient?
Has an employer satisfied his/her legal duties in using such decorations or is there a requirement to investigate further and get certification of compliance with some recognised test by a recognised testing laboratory?
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Posted By Ron Hunter
John, your local Trading Standards Department should have some sage advice on that, although I'm struggling to see where an employer could fall down on this one.
The real risks are with the employees pinning the decorations onto the asbestos ceiling tiles, falling from the swivel chair they're standing on and snaggging the extension cable feeding the six sets of old single insulated fairy lights they've brought in from home. Humbug, I say!
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Posted By John Malone
Ron, thanks for the comments, and of course you are right that- in terms of frequency/probability of occurence - trips/falls etc are main risks.
But as in every H&S topic, the low probability/high severity risks must also be considered. A Christmas tree going on fire may be very improbable in a workplace environment, but if it does happen the smoke may cause multiple fatalities within minutes - so this is a very real risk.
After extensive Google searches I cannot find one supplier of artificial xmas trees that makes any claim to compliance with a particular standard.
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Posted By Liz Skelton
A sensible approach to risk management should be taken here. When reviewing your fire risk assessment think about where your christmas tree is sited, how many people are in the environment, what decorations you are using. Sending it for tests is a bit OTT!
Liz
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Posted By Casanova
John,
Would a manufacturer have to comply with a fire rating, God doesn't!
I think there is something in the Building Regs on Furnishings and decorations if my memory serves me righty.
Casanova
X
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Posted By garyh
How would the smoke from one christmas tree fire kill people who are not asleep??
Surely you would not place it where it could set off a larger fire. Keep it in proportion, please.
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Posted By Casanova
John,
I am sure in this day and age you can google the living daylights out of yourself with videos of families incinerated by X-mas trees but I think a bit of perspective is needed here. What would you do at work that you wouldn't do at home.
Place it in a walkway, on a flight of stairs?
Drape it in paper and any other flammable material you can lay your hands on?
Use candles instead of LED low temperature lights?
Leave lights on unattended?
Roast chestnuts underneath it?
Just a little common sense reduce the risk to an absolute minimum.
Casanove
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PS have a very merry x-mas not a worried one.
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Posted By John Malone
After further research, while I found no UK standard or guidance, it seems that Holland has a standard NEN 8007 for fire safety of decorations.
This standard was apparently produced in reaction to a fire in 2001 in which 14 people died (garyh take note).
Suppliers of Christmas decorations in Holland can produce certificates of compliance with NEN 8007.
So if anyone wants peace of mind about safety of their decorations, order them from Holland!
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Posted By SNS
It may be that it was this event which raised the issue of fire retardants on decorations.
Sad as it was the main cause of the high death toll was blocked escapes.
News report precis:
The fire at the harbourside Het Hemeltje cafe in the fishing village of Volendam is believed to have been triggered when revellers lit sparklers which ignited ceiling decorations that had not been sprayed with flame-retardant material.
The fire broke out as hundreds of teenagers celebrated the New Year. Mass panic followed after the party goers discovered that all but one of the emergency exits had been blocked preventing their escape
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