Amended in Senate July 8, 2015

Amended in Assembly June 1, 2015

Amended in Assembly April 14, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1411

Introduced by Assembly Member Eduardo Garcia

February 27, 2015

An act to add and repeal Section 13113.95 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to fire protection.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1411, as amended, Eduardo Garcia. Fire protection: type 1 clothes dryers.

Existing law establishes the Office of the State Fire Marshal in the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and requires the office to foster, promote, and develop ways and means of protecting life and property against fire and panic. Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal to adopt regulations and standards necessary to control the quality and installation of fire alarm systems and devices marketed, distributed, offered for sale, or sold in this state.

This bill would require, on or before December 31, 2016, the State Fire Marshal to work with fire service entities, the appliance industry, disability advocates, and related stakeholders to accomplish certain things, including gathering information, and providing begin delete fundings end delete begin insert findings end insert and recommendations to the Legislature, regarding fires related to type 1 clothes dryers, as defined, and the dangers of excessive lint.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(a) Fire safety experts identify excess dryer lint as begin delete one of the
leading causes of end delete begin insert a potential contributing factor in end insert residential fires
in California each year.

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(b) A

end delete

begin insert A end insert 2011 report released by the United States Consumer Product
Safety Commission identified fires originating in dryers as nearly
5 percent of all residential fires occurring annually in the country.
begin delete Experts widely agree end delete begin insert Some experts believe end insert that this number is
grossly underestimated, however, because nearly one-half of all
fires that originate in dryers are identified as “electrical fires” rather
than being reported as fires that began in dryers. It is more likely
that 10 percent of all national home fires begin in washers and
dryers.

begin delete

(c)

end delete

begin insert (b) end insert  The National Fire Prevention Association (NFPA) reported
that in 2006-2010, there were 16,950 home structure fires per year
reported to fire departments throughout the country where clothes
dryers or washing machines were the equipment involved in
ignition, with associated annual losses of 34 civilian deaths, 430
civilian injuries, and $209 million in direct property damage.
Dryers alone accounted for 92 percent of these fires and 87 percent
of the reported deaths. The leading factor contributing to ignition
was failure to clean out the lint buildup.

begin delete

(d) Statistics are not available about the number of home fires
in California, specifically, so it is not possible to calculate what
percentage of California home fires are caused by lint buildup in
dryers. If we consider that 12 percent of the nation’s population
are Californians, however, we can imagine the magnitude of
California home fires that likely are caused by lint buildup in
clothes dryers. These fires are entirely preventable.

end delete begin insert

(c) Across the United States, nearly 70 percent of households
own or have access to a clothes dryer. These appliances are relied
upon and are used largely without incident. Clothes dryer
manufacturers have continually worked to improve safety standards
based on new innovations, including work on a recent fire
containment standard, and will continue to do so to reduce
potential risks and further improve consumer safety.

end insert begin insert

(d) The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM)
has developed a clothes dryer safety brochure titled “Helpful hints
for using your clothes dryer safely and effectively,” which has
been distributed to more than one million appliance owners in the
United States. AHAM makes this important resource available to
fire educators and consumers for free.

end insert

(e) Lint is a fire hazard. The UL standard, UL2158, specifies
in Section 7.1.2. relating to appliance marking, that an appliance
shall be permanently marked as follows:

(1) At or near the exhaust opening of the appliance with the
word “CAUTION” and the following statement or the equivalent:

“Risk of Fire. A clothes dryer produces combustible lint. The
dryer must be connected to an exhaust to the outdoors. See
Installation Instructions.”

(2) On a surface readily visible to the user after installation of
the appliance with the word “CAUTION” and the following
statement or the equivalent:

“Risk of Fire. A clothes dryer produces combustible lint.”

begin delete

(f) Lint is a highly combustible material. When it accumulates
in excess in a dryer’s filter, heat from the dryer can cause it to
ignite, starting a fire that quickly spreads throughout the house.
Keeping the machine clean, and having it regularly serviced, can
help prevent a dryer fire, but it is hard to tell when a dangerous
amount of lint has built up.

end delete begin delete

(g)

end delete

begin insert (f) end insert  Technology begin delete exists end delete begin insert may exist end insert today that begin delete monitors end delete begin insert could
indirectly monitor end insert the buildup of highly combustible lint begin insert in some
locations end insert inside the dryer, and begin delete alerts end delete begin insert alert end insert consumers when begin insert the
technology predicts the end insert accumulation reaches dangerous levels
and the dryer interior requires servicing. Unfortunately, no
regulations or standards currently exist regarding clothes dryers
and the notification of the user when dangerous and excessive lint
has built up in a clothes dryer.

begin delete

(h) Once standards for excessive lint notification systems in
clothes dryers are established by the entities that establish the
standards, it is the intent of Legislature to seek legislation to adopt
the standard and make it a requirement that all dryers sold in
California conform to those standards.

end delete begin insert

(g) If standards for excessive lint notification systems in clothes
dryers are established, it is the intent of the Legislature to
encourage the adoption of the standards and encourage that all
dryers sold in California conform to those standards.

end insert

SEC. 2.  

Section 13113.95 is added to the Health and Safety
Code, to read:

13113.95.  

(a) On or before December 31, 2016, the State Fire
Marshal shall work with fire service entities, the appliance industry,
disability advocates, and related stakeholders to accomplish all of
the following:

(1) Gather information regarding type 1 clothes dryer-related
fires and the dangers of excessive lint.

(2) Provide findings and recommendations to the Legislature,
pursuant to Section 9795 of the Government Code, regarding the
information gathered pursuant to paragraph (1).

(3) Encourage begin delete all end delete begin insert the end insert appropriate clothes dryer fire prevention
standard setting begin delete entities end delete begin insert entity end insert to begin delete establish a end delete begin insert amend an appropriate
voluntary national safety end insert standard begin delete regarding the detection of
excessive lint and notification of the excessive lint to the consumer. end delete
begin insert to improve fire safety, and to include provisions based on any
recommendations pursuant to paragraph (2) that will reduce the
likelihood of lint-related clothes dryer fires. end insert

(b) For purposes of this section, “type 1 clothes dryer” means
an appliance used in a residential living environment, including
one that is coin-operated for public use in a residential living
environment. “Type 1 clothes dryer” does not include dryers used
for commercial purposes.

(c) This begin delete repeal end delete section shall remain in effect only until January
1, 2017, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2017, deletes or extends
that date.