To Save the Children

IN Ohio, a four-year-old girl was dressed in her nightgown, ready for bed. Then she decided to take a last look at her pet bird. She clambered to the top of the kitchen range for a closer view, nudged the gas burner and her nightgown all but exploded in flames. It took 97 days and eleven skin grafts before she could leave the hospital. Even so she was luckier than many others. The Government estimates that 3,000 to 5,000 Americans die each year from burns, many associated with flammable clothing and interior furnishings. Another 150,000 to 250,000 survive after painful injuries.

Last week the Commerce Department at long last overrode the objections of manufacturers, and said that beginning in July of 1973 it will ban the sale of any children's sleepwear (up to size 6X) that has not been flameproofed. The overly long two-year grace period will give manufacturers a chance to adjust their production processes to the new standards. After next June, any flammable children's sleepwear must bear a label declaring its susceptibility to fire and stating clearly that it does not meet Government standards.

Under the new rules, when a flame touches the nightwear, the fire must be self-extinguishing and leave no charring more than seven inches from the point of contact. To demonstrate, Commerce Secretary Maurice Stans touched matches to flammable and nonflammable pajamas on dolls. Coming up next on the Government's agenda: flameproofing standards for mattresses and blankets.

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