How Do Redwood Healthcare Mattresses Reduce Fire Risks? 

Published 14th October 2026

Fire is a risk in any environment, but the consequences can be far more serious in a healthcare setting. Unlike a hotel or a school, where the occupants can be evacuated fast and the fire tackled promptly, the evacuation of healthcare settings is not always so straightforward.

If a fire occurs in a hospital or care home, staff will have to deal with patients and residents who may be sick, elderly, have limited mobility or even sedated. This can cause significant delays, putting lives at risk.

The Solution

Here at Redwood, we have the expert technical solution to slowing down fires in healthcare settings. We’ve been producing flame-retardant textiles for healthcare mattresses for decades, and you can count on us to deliver safety for your patients, legal compliance for your organisation and complete peace of mind for your team.

Let’s take a closer look at how the Redwood healthcare mattress reduces fire risks at your facility…

The Anatomy of a Flame-Retardant Healthcare Mattress 

A Redwood healthcare mattress is designed to slow the spread of fire significantly. This gives staff the time they need to safely evacuate the facility and tackle the fire before it spreads. We achieve this in a number of ways:

• Advanced flame-retardant fabrics – Redwood can provide a range of tried and tested flame-retardant fabrics and fabric coatings, including Proban, which slow the spread of fire.

• Flame-resistant foams – standard foams can be highly flammable. Redwood offers a range of specially formulated foam cores that are designed to minimise combustion 

• Welded seams – even the small gaps produced by traditional stitching can be enough to allow oxygen through to the foam core of a mattress. Welded seams slow the progress of fire by preventing air and flames from getting in.

How do flame-retardant fabrics work?

Flame-retardant fabrics are not strictly ‘fire-proof’. However, they are designed to slow down the spread of fire substantially, to allow for detection, response, evacuation and firefighting. Redwood offers a series of protective coatings which work by:

• Releasing flame-damping gases – this deprives the fire of oxygen

• Melting to form a char – this creates a non-combustible protective layer on the fabric surface

• Absorbing heat – to prevent further spontaneous combustion

Redwood also offers a range of naturally flame-resistant fabrics. These fabrics have a natural resistance to flame thanks to the nature of their fibres and the way they are woven.

Meeting Strict UK Fire Safety Regulations 

Naturally, all Redwood healthcare mattresses are designed and independently tested to meet the strictest UK fire safety standards. We don’t work to these standards because they are required by law, we work to them because they benchmark the safety and performance you depend on.

The Redwood healthcare mattress meets and exceeds the following UK standards:

• BS7177 – the British Standard for ignition resistance

• Crib 5 – the industry standard test for flame retardant fabrics used in commercial settings like hotels, hospitals and schools, incorporating BS7176 and BS 5852, Ignition Source 5

• Crib 7 – for high-risk environments, such as mental health facilities and prison hospitals, Redwood can raise the fire protection standards even higher, to Crib 7 (BS7175) levels.

Delivering Safety Without Compromising Comfort 

We’re often asked whether our flame-retardant healthcare mattress has to sacrifice comfort to achieve fire safety. This may have been the case in the past, but thanks to our dedicated research and development teams, we’re proud to say that the flame-retardant healthcare mattress is as comfortable as it is safe.

Redwood flame-retardant healthcare mattresses have a breathable surface layer and fully supportive inner foam. They include all the features you need, from pressure control to moisture resistance, protecting your patients in many different ways.

Redwood Has The Solution You Need

As trusted textile experts, Redwood can offer a full range of fire resistant and flame-retardant fabrics for your medical mattresses, with expert advice on which is the right solution for you. 

When fire strikes, every second counts. So talk to our expert team today to unlock fire safety at the highest level, protecting your patients, your people and your premises.

Frequently Asked Questions