The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER. MONDAY, MARCH 2, 1914. "SAFE" FLANNELETTE.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 51, 2 March 1914, Page 4

The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER. MONDAY, MARCH 2, 1914. "SAFE" FLANNELETTE.

'On January Ist of this year the new English Act of Parliament, intended to avert the groat animal Joss of life owing to the use of so-called "sale'' flannelette, came into force. J lie Act is the outcome of the campaign conducted against the flannelette peril

a year ago, in co-operation with tin' National League for Physical Education ;iii<l Improvement, and it will

l>ut a stop to the practice of selling Hannelette as safe when it is not. It is now unlawful to sol! in Britain flannelette or any other textile fabric.

either in tlio piece or made up into garments, or in any form to which is attributed expressly or inferentially the quality of non-inflammability, or safety from fire—l. By wording or marking, descriptive or otherwise (a) On the materia] ; (T>), on any

rapper or band; i.'c), in any letter

press or writing referring to tap material; or 2. Isy verbal misrepresentation at the time of sale—unless such flannelette conforms to a standard of non-inflamnirbility prescribed by Home Office regulations. These regulations prescribe the following methods of testing:— A textile fabric shall be deemed to conform to the standard of non-inflamniabiiity if. when tested in accordance with the prescribed method of testing, it is not set alight, or, if set alight, burns without a (lame or with a flame which does not spread, but converges and dies out. A sample of the fabric measuring not less than one square yard shall be taken, and, after it has been three times in .succession thoroughly washed with soap and water, dried and ironed, shall be suspended vertically with-

out folds or crease*. Lhe name o. j a wax taper not loss than oiu'-e.glith; 0 f a ,, inch or more than tccnths of an inch in diameter shall tJien be brought in contact with the fabric one inch above its lower edge , m ,l s l ia l| be kepi in contact lor not loss than 12 or more than 1"> seconds. f i(K al authorities are empowered to pn f om > the Act in their own districts, the officer responsible for tlu> inspection of fabrics being either the sanitary officer or the inspector oi weights nnd measures. Should any flannelette exposed for sale bear .the description that it is flame proof the official will be empowered to seize ! u nd submit a sample to the test i\oI scribed above. What the Act may do to safeguard the lives of the young from the perils of "safety" flannelette _the most dangerous of all flannelettes, because it is frequently the

reverse of safe—may be gathered from the fact that more than 2000 lives are lost each year in the United Kingdom in consequence of the ignition, of inflammable clothing, and a large proportion of the victims are very young children. In the majority of 'cases this inflammable clothing is made of flannelette. .Misleading and dangerous labels on flannelettes have from time to time been condemned by coroners, and the Home Office has this year instituted a special enquiry among coroners with a view to obtaining statistics of fatalities due to "safety" flannelettes. The last at-j tempt made by the Home Office to ascertain the exact proportions of deaths clue actually to flannelette was in 1001. In that year coroners were asked to make returns, and these showed tha 412 deaths in the United Kingdom were due to this cause.