According to the fire safety advise center "The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations 1988 (as amended in 1989, 1993 and 2010) set levels of fire resistance for domestic upholstered furniture, furnishings and other products containing upholstery. This page is intended to give an overview of the responsibilities of companies involved in the supply of upholstered furniture and is intended to help suppliers of these products understand how the new Regulations may affect them. It is not an authoritative interpretation of the Regulations, which is a matter for the courts. The Regulations like most legislation is difficult to fully understand consequently two guides have been published to assist the lay person to understand the regulations more fully. This page provides an overview but it does not cover all the details. You should refer to the BERR and FIRA’s Guide to the Regulations for more detailed information.

The Regulations are enforced by the Trading Standards Department. If you need advice, clarification or additional information contact them by using their website, telephone or go personally to the local office which will be a department of your local Council.

I would suggest you download The Guides to the Regulations which gives a much fuller understanding of the regulations and combined with the regulations, should answer any question you have. In my opinion the FIRA guide is the more up to date and better guide despite having to jump through a few hoops to obtain it.

The legislation and guides can be downloaded from the following links,

• The Statutory Instrument 1988 No. 1324, the Statutory Instrument 1989 No. 2358 , the Statutory Instrument 1993 No. 207and Statutory Intrument 2010 No 2205
• The Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform(BERR) Guide to the regulations
• The Furniture Industry Research Association(FIRA) Guide to the Regulations (to download this guide you must register for free but it is well worth it.)

Summary

The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations 1988 (amended 1989 and 1993) are UK law and are designed to ensure that upholstery components and composites used for furniture supplied in the UK meet specified ignition resistance levels and are suitable labelled. There are six main elements contained within the Regulations:

1. Filling materials must meet specified ignition requirements
2. Upholstery composites must be cigarette resistant
3. Covers must be match resistant (with certain exceptions as outlined in Section 8.2 and Appendix A5)
4. A permanent label must be fitted to every item of new furniture (with the exception of mattresses
   and bed-bases)
5. A display label must be fitted to every item of new furniture at the point of sale (with the exception of mattresses, bed-bases, pillows, scatter cushions, seat pads, loose covers sold separately from the furniture and stretch covers)
6. The first supplier of domestic upholstered furniture in the UK must maintain records for five years to prove compliance. The requirements regarding testing and labelling of items are detailed in Schedules 1-7 of the Regulations. Schedules 1-5 provide detailed information regarding the testing requirements for foam and non-foam fillings, composites, interliner’s and covers. Schedules 6-7 provide detailed information regarding the display and permanent labelling of the final item."

for more information please click here.

http://www.firesafe.org.uk/furniture-and-furnishings-fire-safety-regulations-19881989-and-1993/

Thank you.

source: Online