Forensic evaluation of clothing flammability

A set of 17 commercial garments were purchased, categorized based on their fabric composition and fire tested. Three fire exposures were used: (a) a simile of the United States regulatory test for apparel fabrics (16CFR1610), (b) a small vertical candle on a small swatch of fabric and (c) a candle applied to a full garment, placed on a mannequin. Comparisons were made between the results of the various tests and of the various fabrics tested. A general correlation was observed whereby increased fabric areal density [weight/unit fabric area] resulted in improved fire performance. Where outliers to this generalization were observed the improved fire performance was due to the superior inherent fire performance of specific fabric types such as silk. Overall, the quantitative behavior with regard to flame spread rate observed after ignition of cellulosic, thermoplastic and blended fabrics was more heavily dependent on fabric areal density than on their chemical composition. Two key conclusions are that very lightweight fabrics constitute a potential danger and that the United States regulatory value, set at 88.3g/m(2) (2.6oz/yd(2)), represents an essentially arbitrary cut-off in this regard. Copyright (C) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.