More Sleep Space for Firefighters

Comfort Solutions, maker of King Koil®-branded beds and a Top 10 U.S. bedding producer, will launch at FDIC 2013 a new Flare™ mattress design that can provide the nation’s firefighters and emergency service responders with an extra half-foot of sleeping space without replacing existing bed frames or taking up extra space in sleeping rooms. 

   The groundbreaking Flare design—first presented by Comfort Solutions in January at the world’s largest bedding show in Las Vegas—delivers 15 percent more sleeping space than the conventional twin mattress that firefighters and emergency service responders usually sleep on.    

   “Research has long demonstrated the relationship between increased sleeping space and the quality of a person’s sleep,” noted Brandon Dunn, company vice president of business development and a volunteer firefighter for 16 years.    

   “In light of the fact that emergency organizations typically use smaller mattresses to conserve space, we can think of few other professions or situations where the addition of as much as six inches of side-to-side sleeping space for an adult would be more needed or welcomed,” said Dunn.   

   In the final report of a 2007 study on the effects of sleep deprivation on firefighters and EMS responders, conducted by the International Association of Fire Chiefs, IAFC board director I. David Daniels and CFO James Harmes jointly reported that “Perhaps the most important fact [of the study] is the realization that lack of adequate sleep for members of the fire service has the same effect on them as it does on other human beings.

   “Humans don’t perform at peak levels without adequate sleep.  …Generally, a significant safety hazard is present when a person is sleep deprived.”

   The benefits of the patent-pending Flare concept will be demonstrated at this year’s FDIC, Booth 9912 in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.  Comfort Solutions will show two Extended Life™ models in twin XL sizes, one in the new Flare design and the other in a conventional mattress configuration.     

   The Flare design is accomplished by changing the shape of a conventional mattress from a flat rectangle to a trapezoid with flared sides made from specially cut, premium high density foam. 

   Similar to a truss in a bridge design, the edge maintains strength when weight is applied because of its angle construction.  In effect, the design not only extends, but also enhances, the product’s edge and durability.

   “We’re very pleased to present this important innovation at this year’s FDIC exhibition, and with it, the opportunity to vastly improve the sleeping comfort and quality of those whose sleep is often compromised by the nature of their work,” Dunn said.

   Flare mattresses will be available to fire stations and emergency service organizations across the country through a manufacturer-direct program beginning May 1. Comfort Solutions will provide information and resources for sheets that fit Flare beds at the show.

   To obtain more information on the Flare bed innovation, contact Brandon Dunn at firefighter@comfortsolutions.com or call 800-525-8331.    

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