Citation

De Poortere M, Schonbach C, Simonson M. Fire Mater. 2000; 24(1): 53-60.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2000, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The composition of enclosure materials used in many TV sets sold on the European market has changed significantly since the early 1990s. To determine the potential impact of this change on TV fire safety, a review of European and US TV set fire statistics has been carried out. TV set fires can have internal electrical causes due to faults not apparent at the time of manufacture, simple wear and tear, or a variety of external causes. Recent detailed statistics suggest that about one third of all TV fires are due to external ignition. Available data show that the significant drop in the rate of TV set fires experienced in Europe during the 1980s is not continuing today. In fact, the rate appears to be increasing in some countries, such as the UK and Sweden. The number of TV set fires in Europe is estimated as 100 fires per million TV sets per year due to internal ignition sources, at least an order of magnitude higher than in the USA where the fire safety classifications for TV set enclosure materials has been historically high. TV set fires have a dramatic impact on life and property. To avoid an increase in TV set fires, fire safety requirements should be increased, and public awareness of the importance of fire safety in TVs heightened.