There is no government mandate to defend or warn people about the danger from the glass of gas fireplaces, that in latest years are installed by the thousands as cleaner options to wood burning hearths. Instead, the business polices itself under a voluntary standard which allows the glass to achieve a peak temperature of 500 degrees. The limit is intended to maintain the glass from cracking, not to avoid people from getting burned. The conventional, written by a company dominated group, does not need a screen to prevent contact with the glass. Many in the market argue that the risks of the hearth are so obvious that maintaining children safe is just a matter of good parenting as well as common sense.
A leading producer, Hearth as well as Home Technologies, has taken steps to defend consumers by attaching a mesh Security screen on all its glass enclosed fireplaces. The screen Is a big help, said Joel Ginsberg, a divisional manager with the Lakeville, Minn.,-based company. If you touch the screen, you do not burn your hand, he said. If she touches the glass, you leave skin on the glass. Exploring the lobby, Anna planted both of her hands on the glass of the hearth. As the baby sitter pulled her away, the kid’s melted skin was stuck to the glass. The hearth Was right on the wall and completely accessible. Wooldridge as well as her family settled a lawsuit that accused the hearth maker of failing to reveal the potential risk of the unguarded glass. Bucher settled an incident against the hotel, that he said has since put a barrier in front of the hearth. In a class action agreement proposed last month, a producer of fireplaces, Lennox International, agreed to provide safety screens, totally free, to over a half million current owners of its fireplaces.
