A costume guide for a safe Diwali

This Diwali, as you decorate your home with traditional diyas or aromatic candles, pay utmost attention to fire safety

This Diwali, as you decorate your home with traditional diyas or aromatic candles, pay utmost attention to fire safety . This requires careful thinking on the location of the diyas and candles so as to prevent accidental contact with them. The design of the clothes that you wear for the occasion and the fabric that you choose, also play a part in keeping you safe.

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So to help you make the right choice, I have put together some essential information on the flammability of different kinds of fabrics and clothes, because we do not have laws such as those in the United States or Canada, to regulate the safety of clothes vis-à-vis their flammability .

In fact even though we have statistics on fire mishaps in the country, we do not have any specific data on injuries and fatalities caused on account of clothes accidentally catching fire. However, media reports of such fire accidents caused from diyas and candles or while performing pooja or even during cooking, raise serious concerns. As it is, traditional Indian dresses require women to be extra cautious while going near a fire, but today, with fashion trends veering towards wide pants and flowing dresses, one needs to be extremely vigilant.

The safety of your clothing in respect of its flammability hazard depends on five important factors -- the fibre used in the fabric; the fabric composition and construction ; the weight of the fabric; the finish of the fabric including its surface texture; and the design of the garment.

The relative flammability of a fibre is determined on the basis of the minimum concentration of oxygen required to support combustion of the fabric, known as its “Limiting Oxygen Index” (LOI). Since the oxygen content of the atmosphere is about 21 per cent, all those fibres with an LOI of less than 21 per cent burn readily.

Thus cellulose fibres like cotton and linen, with an LOI of 17-20 percent, ignite easily when in contact with a flame and burn rapidly and continue to burn even after taken away from the flame. However, tightly woven, thick and heavy cotton burns more slowly.

Wool , a protein fibre, on the other hand has an LOI of 24-27 per cent and therefore will not ignite readily and burns very slowly. Natural silk, another protein fibre with an LOI of 23, also burns slowly and shrinks or curls away from the flame and is self-extinguishing. Comparative studies on heat transfer of fabrics also indicate that wool and silk generally do not cause severe burns.

Polyester (LOI of 22 per cent) melts rather than catch fire and falls away from the flame. If it does catch fire, it burns slowly and self-extinguishes. However, because it melts, it causes deep localised burn injury . Acrylic, with an LOI value of 17-18 per cent is the most flammable of synthetic fibres -- it burns fast, produces considerable heat and worse, it melts and drips, causing deep and severe burns. Heavyweight acrylic is no better.

Fabric structure matters too -- loosely woven fabric is generally far more combustible than a tightly woven fabric because of the presence of air in and around the yarn, fuelling combustion. Likewise, a lightweight cloth is far more flammable than a thicker, heavier one. The surface texture of the fabric also makes a difference – fabrics with raised fibre surface are more prone to catch fire and the flame can well travel quickly over the surface of the fabric. Chemical finishes can also alter the flammability of a textile, so also blends of different fibres..

The design of the garment also plays an extremely important role here - trailing garments, flowing dresses and long and wide sleeves not only increase the chances of fabrics accidentally coming in contact with a source of fire, but such dresses burn faster because of the availability of more air between the skin and the garment. So do avoid such garments during the festival and tuck in all loose ends..

In fact an observational study involving 224 persons who had sustained burns on account of their clothes catching fire, found that victims wearing loose, flowing garments such as sarees (41.1 per cent), salwar (22.3 per cent) and dupatta (9.8 per cent) caught fire easily and sustained more burn injuries than those who wore short, fitting dresses. The study, published in the World Journal of Plastic Surgery ( T.M.Honnegowda, 2019 ) also found that synthetic garments were involved in far more accidents (50.89 per cent) than cotton (20.53 per cent )

So by all accounts, wool is one of the best fabrics to wear during the festival of lights. Heavy and thick natural silk is also an option. Thick and tightly woven heavy cottons is not a bad idea too. But say no to loosely woven, light weight fabrics and most importantly, acrylic garments.