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From the Office of U.S. Congressman Robert E. Andrews
As a Co-Chairman for the Congressional Fire Services Caucus in the House of Representatives, it is my privilege and responsibility to respond to critical fire safety issues. In the interest of protecting the lives and safety of America's children, I want to revisit the perplexing subject of flammable children's sleepwear. Fires and burns are the fifth leading cause of accidental injury-related death among children under age 15. Because of this, safeguarding our children against the risk of fire is a matter of crucial importance.
One way to reduce the estimated 40,000 children who are injured by fire in the home each year is to call on the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to tighten regulations on flammable sleepwear. Under the current CPSC regulation, sleepwear that is not fire resistant can be imported and sold provided it is not labeled as sleepwear or is "tight-fitting." Infant sleepwear size zero to nine months has no standard for fire resistance. Because children age five and under are twice as likely to die in a fire as the rest of the population, they need as much protection from fire as possible.
The current standard, implemented in 1996, backpedaled on the original regulation for the flammability of children's sleepwear mandated in 1972. Between 2002 and 2005, 540 children ages 14 and under died and 1,600 more were injured in home structure fires. Such numbers show that the relaxed CPSC standard is failing our nation's young and vulnerable, increasing the likelihood of death and injury by fire.
In a one year period of time between July of 2002 and June of 2003, hospital emergency rooms treated an estimated 3,895 injuries caused by fires starting with worn clothing. These injuries are largely preventable. Legislation that raises the standard of flammable children's sleepwear is a precautionary measure that can help preserve the health and safety of America's 73 million children.
In the past year, the U.S. imported almost 99% of sleepwear on the market. Those imports included flammable pajamas that fall short of today's CPSC standards. Thirty percent of all children's product recalls in the last five years relating to fire, burn and electrical shock hazards were articles of clothing that failed to meet the requirements of the Flammable Fabrics Act. The number of children injured by these products has nearly doubled in the last five years, in comparison with the previous decade. By implementing stronger regulations on flammable pajamas, the CPSC can safeguard children's sleepwear against the risk of fire.
In my 17 years of service as the Representative of New Jersey's 1st District, I have collaborated with my fellow members of Congress to continually advocate for increased fire safety and prevention. I am dedicated to protecting my constituents, the American people and our nation's children in particular against the dangers posed by fire.
Be safe,
Rep. Rob Andrews
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The Congressional Fire Services Institute recently posted the newly designed Government Relations section of its website (www.cfsi.org/govt_affairs.asp). Providing a broad range of information about the federal government, the redesigned section is an excellent educational tool for individuals interested in learning about the legislative process and the types of federal programs available to the fire and rescue services.
The section will feature monthly articles from the leaders of the Congressional Fire Services Caucus under the title of the "Congressional Alarm." Congressman Rob Andrews (NJ) is featured in this month's section with an article on children's sleepwear. Congressman Andrews has been actively advocating for the Consumer Product Safety Commission to revise the standard on children's sleepwear, recognizing that the existing standard needs to be strengthened in order to reduce the number burn-related injuries and deaths attributed to the types of sleepwear that meet current CPSC standards.
The newly designed section contains a current membership list for the Congressional Fire Services Caucus and the CFSI National Advisory Committee. The caucus directory will enable readers to access their Congressional member's website that explains scheduling information and positions on important federal issues. The section also features a video message, titled CFSI Week-In-Review. Each week, the message will be delivered by the CFSI staff or Caucus leaders, reviewing events that occurred on Capitol Hill that impact the fire and emergency services.
Established in 1989, CFSI is a nonpartisan, non-profit policy institute designed to educate Congress about the challenges and needs of our nation's fire and emergency services. CFSI is not membership-based, but offers an array of services without charge to firefighters and rescue personnel seeking information about Congress and current legislation.
