Protect Our Children
Why the law needs changing immediately
THE Northern Echo today launches a campaign urging the Government to change a law that allows less stringent fire safety standards on children's pyjamas.
Last night fire chiefs, trading standards officials and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (Rospa) threw their weight behind the paper's Protect Our Children campaign.
It has been launched in conjunction with the family of two-year-old Daniel Mitchard-Harrison, who suffered horrific burns when his pyjama shorts caught fire at his home last month.
A spark from a wood burner set fire to the leg of the shorts, and they were ablaze within seconds.
Doctors said only the quick thinking of Daniel's mother, who ripped the blazing clothes off him and put him into a cold bath, saved his life.
Although he was only wearing the clothes for less than a minute, a fifth of his body was burned.
Daniel, from Dalton, near Thirsk, North Yorkshire, suffered 15 per cent full thickness burns and is still in hospital, where he had a blood transfusion and has endured a series of skin grafts.
Since the accident, Daniel has suffered flashbacks and he has lost weight. It could be another three weeks before he is allowed home.
Last night, his family spoke for the first time about the accident, which they said could have killed him.
Daniel's grandfather, Andrew Mitchard, is so angry that children's pyjamas can catch fire so quickly that he has joined forces with The Northern Echo to have the law changed.
British law requires nightdresses and most dressing gowns to be flame resistant, but historically, pyjamas have been exempt because they are close fitting.
Now Mr Mitchard wants pyjamas to be covered by the law, as they are in the US and other parts of Europe.
After Daniel's accident, Mr Mitchard conducted an experiment to see how quickly the same brand of pyjama shorts caught fire and disintegrated.
The experiment was filmed by The Northern Echo in the family kitchen. It took seconds for the shorts to turn to ash.
Mr Mitchard said: "Daniel will be permanently scarred. He was also very lucky.
"After the accident, I did the experiment to put my mind to rest.
"I was shocked. It was horrific to think about a child inside those shorts. They took just seconds to incinerate.
"I just cannot believe that anybody could market nightwear for children that bursts into flames. It makes me very angry."
Daniel's mother and father, Liza Mitchard-Harrison and Michael Harrison, have taken the brave step to allow Daniel's story to be told and his pictures to be published in the hope it will spare another child the pain he is suffering. Mrs Mitchard-Harrison, 27, has not left Daniel's side, in the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle, since the accident.
Speaking from the ward, she said: "Daniel has been very brave and very strong. He has been much stronger than me.
"We want the law to change. We just do not want this to happen to any other children. It could be 100 per cent worse next time."
Station manager Carl Boasman, of North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, watched The Northern Echo's video of Mr Mitchard's experiment and has conducted his own test at a fire centre in Easingwold, North Yorkshire.
He said: "I am a parent myself and I was alarmed and surprised by how quickly the clothing ignited.
"Parents need to be aware that if their child is wearing nightwear, they are at risk of the clothing catching fire if it goes against a heat source."
In the UK, there are about 750 incidents a year in which clothing catches fire. Of these, 80 are fatal.
Mr Boasman said: "It takes seconds for people to sustain burns, and burns in children are particularly serious because their small bodies do not cope well with the shock.
"We support this campaign to raise awareness of the issues."
Derek Smith, of North Yorkshire trading standards, said: "We support any moves to improve consumer safety.
"There was a similar problem a few years ago with shell suits, but they went out of fashion before the legislation could change."
Rospa was already calling for nightwear safety regulations to be re-examined before Daniel's accident.
Roger Vincent, from Rospa, told The Northern Echo: "We want to see all nightwear that is not flame-resistant covered. We think the regulations are outdated.
"However, even if regulations change, people still need to take great care when children are near fire."
A spokesman for the Department for Trade and Industry said the UK's nightwear regulations were already the most stringent in Europe.
He said: "To make them more so would be to risk the commission revoking them on the grounds that they are a barrier to trade.
"There are no current plans to amend the regulations."
However, the US law states that: "Children's nightwear must be flame resistant and self-extinguish if a flame from a candle, match, lighter or a similar item causes it to catch fire."
* You can sign our petition calling for the Government to change a law that allows less stringent fire safety standards on children's pyjamas. Click here to be taken to the petition.
6:03am Tuesday 10th April 2007
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CommentPosted by: sheila french, tyne&wear on 12:58pm Tue 10 Apr 07
the law should be changed, the same thing happened to my partner when he was 5. he is now in his 40s and is badly scarred from the neck down
the law should be changed, the same thing happened to my partner when he was 5. he is now in his 40s and is badly scarred from the neck down
Posted by: sheila french, tyne&wear on 12:59pm Tue 10 Apr 07
the law should be changed, the same thing happened to my partner when he was 5. he is now in his 40s and is badly scarred from the neck down
the law should be changed, the same thing happened to my partner when he was 5. he is now in his 40s and is badly scarred from the neck down
Posted by: Andrew S. Reed, Brussels (UKIP delegation) on 12:59pm Thu 12 Apr 07
Sir - the DTI's comment on your campaign - to the effect that the EU would not allow Britain to tighten its fire-safety requirements for pyjamas - reveals an absurdity, which affects every aspect of life - that an unelected bureaucracy in Brussels is being allowed to tell elected governments what to do.
We must stop this.
Sir - the DTI's comment on your campaign - to the effect that the EU would not allow Britain to tighten its fire-safety requirements for pyjamas - reveals an absurdity, which affects every aspect of life - that an unelected bureaucracy in Brussels is being allowed to tell elected governments what to do.
We must stop this.
Posted by: mary duffy on 5:54pm Thu 12 Apr 07
Now this is something i agree with whole heartedly and would support one hundred percent.
There is no way these garments should be sold and being a grandmother of six i would be devistated if anything should happened to them because of cheap wormanship
Now this is something i agree with whole heartedly and would support one hundred percent.
There is no way these garments should be sold and being a grandmother of six i would be devistated if anything should happened to them because of cheap wormanship
Posted by: Alan Ross, Leeds on 10:32pm Sun 15 Apr 07
The Nightwear Safety Regulations were introduced to protect consumers from flowing garments such as nightdresses. If we extend the same rules to pyjamas then we need to extend it to all clothing. As someone with 20 years experience of the flammability of textile materials, the cost implications would be enormous. The DTI are right to say that they would not be allowed to change the Regulations. This was recently tried but a number of European countries vetoed the changes on the grounds of potential damage to their textile industries! The UK still has one of the most stringent sets of Regulation in this field. I do however sympathise with the child's injuries but feel that this is a case of looking for someone else to blame. Why was the child left alone with a wood burner?
The Nightwear Safety Regulations were introduced to protect consumers from flowing garments such as nightdresses. If we extend the same rules to pyjamas then we need to extend it to all clothing. As someone with 20 years experience of the flammability of textile materials, the cost implications would be enormous. The DTI are right to say that they would not be allowed to change the Regulations. This was recently tried but a number of European countries vetoed the changes on the grounds of potential damage to their textile industries! The UK still has one of the most stringent sets of Regulation in this field. I do however sympathise with the child's injuries but feel that this is a case of looking for someone else to blame. Why was the child left alone with a wood burner?
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