DEADLY FLANNELETTE.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXV, Issue 6, 2 January 1913, Page 6

DEADLY FLANNELETTE.

(Per Press Association.) Dunedin, December 30

At the inquest this morning concerning the death of Annie iMvait, aged 16, of Owaka, who died last night from burns received on May 16th, after a painful illness, the evidence showed that while sitting in a flannelette nightdress a spark from a wood fire ignited the garment. The Coroner (Mr Gi'aham) said, in recording the verdict, that in \i< u of tho large number of cases where flannelette was responsible for. fatal burns, it ought almost to be made a crime to wear flannelette in any circumstances.

* AN APPALLING RECORD OF CHILD VICTIMS. Flannelette perils were brought specially to the notice of the Home Office when a deputation representing the National League for Physical Education and Improvement waited on the Undersecretary to the Home Department, Mr Ellis Griffith, M-I-, to urge “That stops he taken (by a short Act) to make it penal to describe as non-inflammable or sate material which will not stand certain prescribed tests, and to prohibit tin use of the word flannelette unless n js made clear that it is made of cotton only.” , r , ~ , Professor Howard Marsh mentioned the appalling loss of life througr dresses, especially those of women ano children, catching alight. Between November 20th and December 20th of last year there were 128 deaths caused in that way, 11.9 of which were oi women and 'children. In his many years’ experience at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital the most paintnl cases were those of poor little Children between the ages of two and ten who had been practically burnt to death by their clothes catching fire. I launch said the professor, was first made in Wales, and meant wool, which was p very safe material. Flannelette was not wool; it was cotton, as was also eott-pn-wool, a name which was a contradiction in terms, and both exceed ingly' inflammable. He mentioned the case of a nurse at his own house whose clothing caught fire. Mr Theodore Taylor, M.F., assured the Under Horne Secretary.that there was a vast difference between the inflammability ""hf flannel and flanne. ette, and urged the prohibition ot tin use of the misleading name of flannelette unless the means which sci ence had discovered of making it non inflammable were adopted. Sir Lauder Brim ton said one of the meet terrible deaths was that of burning. If a man took a baby from the mother’s arms and threw it into a fjre, everyone would say hanging was too good for, him. • But the suffering was'just the same in the cast of a child burnt to death in its clothing. • Mr Ellis Griffith said it was obviously the duty of the Legislature to dr all it could to minimise the risk ol danger to child life. Flannelette was a warm and cheap material, not so inflammable when new as it was after it had been washed; hut he Understood that there were now means, by a new process of rendering this highly inflammable material permanently non-inflammable.

The Home Office was advised by tin Board of Trade that it was not practicable to deal with restrictions, or the sale under the Merchandise MarkrAct, which was aimed at quite another matter:’ Again, there was considerable difficulty in arriving at a standard test of non-inflammability. As to the question of name, he thought it would be a pity to change the name from flannelette, for there was now in the public mind an idea of danger associated with the name. Ho asked the deputation to .supply more detailed information, which h.< promised the Home Office would takt fully into consideration.