We were all shocked and horrified by the recent events of Grenfell Tower – the speed with which the building was engulfed in flames, leaving little time or means for escape resulting in the massive loss of life.

It was a sombre reminder of the sheer speed and force with which fire can devastate.  As specialists in fire retardant curtains, blinds and soft furnishings we are passionate about the safety of our clients. Fire is an even greater risk in care home and healthcare environments where the residents are less agile, more susceptible to confusion and less able to respond quickly in the event of an emergency.

Should a fire break out (and there were 120 accidental fires in care homes in London alone last year), fire retardant soft furnishings buy valuable time, this short video shows fire retardant and untreated fabric being set alight – in less than two minutes the untreated curtains have become the source of a major life-threatening fire while the fire around the treated fabric is still at a manageable level.

Many care homes are still not fitted with sprinkler systems so if a fire does break out it will spread rapidly. All our soft furnishings and curtains carry fire retardant labelling (each curtain is labelled) making safety checks quick and easy to carry out. England’s care watchdog the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has written to all care homes asking them to review their fire safety checks.  Make sure that fire retardant soft furnishings are part of your safety provision. Contact us to find out more etc.