Classroom Rug Safety: Part I

Shopping for classroom decorations and other creative and unique teaching tools is definitely a lot of fun but there are certain (important) things to keep in mind when bringing various items into the classroom, especially when it comes to carpeting or any other flooring solutions.

When it comes to kids, safety has to be a primary factor and there are two main areas you should consider before purchasing a classroom carpet: fire safety and air quality.

In this blog post, we are going to focus on the first of those two aspects, fire safety. In a future blog post we will dive into the importance of CRI Green Label Plus eco-friendly classroom rugs.

Flammability Rating

It’s not something anyone likes to think about, but school fires do happen. Just take a look at these statistics:

• An estimated 4,060 structure fires involving pre-school through grade 12 buildings were reported every year from 2007 to 2011.
• Half of these fires were intentionally set.
• About 24% of these fires were contained trash or rubbish fires.

Every school must abide by national, state and local fire codes that were written, and are enforced through inspections, in order to ensure that the learning environment is as safe as possible. If you have carpeting in your classroom, one large aspect of passing this inspection relies on whether or not the carpeting used has earned either a Class I or a Class II flammability rating.

The National Fire Protection Association is responsible for creating these class ratings and tests how susceptible a carpet is to spreading a fire once it becomes compromised.

A Class I rating provides the highest level of protection and means that a fire will spread less quickly, compared to a Class II rating. While both a Class I and Class II rating are sufficient enough to pass the national standards, certain facilities, like schools, daycares, pre-schools and churches require the higher level of protection. A rug with a Class I rating will provide additional time to exit the building for those who need it if a fire were to occur.

When buying a carpet to be used in a facility with children, it is especially important to choose one that provides the highest level of protection possible and carries a Class I flammability rating. It would be a shame to have to throw out the rug you bought with the last of your yearly budget because it wasn’t up to fire code par.

There are two well-known manufacturers with years of industry experience that offer amazing classroom carpets that have earned the NFPA rating of Class I: Carpets for Kids® and Joy Carpets®. While choosing a rug from either of these brands will provide you with high-quality flooring options with safety in mind, it does not in any way mean they are unaffordable. Their value, in terms of safety and as an educational tool for teachers and educators, is unmatched when compared to other department stores and big box retailers.

For more information about these wonderful classroom carpets and to shop a wide selection at discount prices, please visit us at www.rtrkidsrugs.com.