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| TV recording of bedding fire tests |
A BBC documentary presented by Julia Bradbury and aired earlier this summer highlighting the low burning qualities of wool was filmed at Chiltern International Fire.
The footage, part of the BBC 3 series Kill It, Cut It, Use It, aimed to uncover the surprising animal origins of many everyday products from abattoir to shop floor.
Bedding made from wool was set alight in CIF’s demonstrator unit. After five minutes, the wool products were “barely smouldering”, while all that was left of the equivalent bedroom scenario using polyester based equivalents was a charred bed frame and mattress base.
The televised fire tests included a commentary by the government’s chief fire and rescue adviser, Sir Ken Knight, who last year gave a presentation on the subject at the Institution of Fire Engineers’ AGM and conference.
Philip Howard, CIF’s head of section for fire behaviour, said: “Wool has a higher ignition temperature than some synthetic fibres, does not produce flaming droplets once lit and has slow flame spread properties because of the char that forms when it burns. As a result, the speed at which a fire develops once the material has ignited can be a lot slower.”