KEY POINTS:
A Government review of the safety standard for children's nightwear has been launched by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, after three children wearing fire-retardant pyjamas were badly burned this year.
Four-year-old Red Beach boy Corwin Bridge died last week, two-and-a-half months after suffering horrific burns when his pyjamas caught fire.
Corwin had been staying at his grandmother's when he got too close to a gas heater pilot light. She had turned the gas off and walked out of the room for just a few moments.
Corwin's Red Stamp pyjamas from The Warehouse passed safety tests undertaken by the Commerce Commission. But what the Bridge family didn't know was that because the pyjamas were close-fitting, they did not need to be made of fire-resistant material to meet the standard and carry the "low-fire-danger" label.
There are four categories of fire hazard labelling for children's nightwear. Only category one is for garments made from low fire hazard fabric. Astoundingly, clothes in categories one to three are all entitled to carry the same 'low-fire-danger' label - even though the only requirements for the second and third categories are that the clothes are close-fitting, or are all-in-one and made of knitted fabrics. Garments that don't meet any of these standards are in category four and must carry a fire warning label.
Through a heart-rending daily internet blog recounting Corwin's brave struggle to overcome his burns, the Bridge family has campaigned to raise parental awareness of fire safety.
Grieving father Simon Bridge told the Herald on Sunday he wanted something good to come from his only son's terrible accident. "Otherwise it's just another dead kid."
He said he wanted to see new safety standards for children's nightwear that allow consumers to compare fire-resistance in garments.
"Parents shouldn't put too much faith in labels, especially those that don't indicate the degree of fire resistance," Simon Bridge said.
He also advised parents not to use gas cabinet heaters and said accidents like Corwin's could "happen to anyone, no matter how careful".
Minister of Consumer Affairs Judith Tizard said she was "appalled" to hear about Corwin's case and that of another child who was burned while wearing the same pyjamas. She confirmed the safety standard would be reviewed "in full" in time for next winter, but said there was a danger in recommending "one pair of (low fire danger) pyjamas over another".
There was a danger parents could feel a false sense of security. "Nothing is absolutely safe when close to a heat source."
She said there were issues with manufacturers coming up with new designs and fabrics that may not easily fit into the testing programme.
Mobile sellers of counterfeit garments, which may be of a highly flammable material, had also been highlighted as a problem requiring a crackdown by the Ministry, she said.
The Commerce Commission is responsible for upholding product safety standards. Brands involved in accidents, such as Corwin's, had been re-examined, and had been found to meet all safety standards, a spokeswoman said.
"Under the current Australia and New Zealand standards tight-fitting children's pyjamas do not need to be made of low-fire-danger material, or material treated with a fire retardant in order to be rated a low fire danger, because the design reduces the risk of catching fire."
A spokeswoman for The Warehouse told the Herald on Sunday the retailer was looking at putting its own labels on children's nightwear in time for next winter, stressing the "stay a metre from the heater" message.
Karren Madden is a flammablility technician at Ag Research in Lincoln, Christchurch. She and her team test sample garments for manufacturers and retailers, and tested the Red Stamp brand of pjs at the request of the Commerce Commission.
Madden said the product safety standard urgently needed amending. "People do not have enough information. They think low danger means no danger."
Manufacturers were constantly developing new and different product lines that were becoming increasingly difficult to categorise.
Cotton did not hold moisture, she said. "The kid may have been sitting in front of the heater for quite a long time. All it takes is one moment of getting too close and... pwhoosh."
National burns centre surgeon Dr Amber Moazzan said children's skin was thinner and more delicate than adults', and thus damage from burns would always be severe.
From a surgeon's perspective he said it would be nice if all clothing was fire proof.
The death has been referred to the coroner.
Family and friends farewell a brave little boy
Corwin Bridge, the curly-haired and courageous cherub who loved elephants, pohutukawa, his sipper bottle and the colour red, was farewelled by his parents, relatives and friends at a touching service on Thursday.
A Tibetan monk performed a puja, to help Corwin's soul into the next life, in the Buddhist faith of his parents.
The brave 4-year-old succumbed to infection related to the third-degree burns he received to two-thirds of his body in early July.
His father Simon, in bare feet and a suit, spoke of a boy who loved life, and lived it to the fullest - and fastest. He was running almost before he could walk, he said. His little boy loved balloons, and his own name, which he could write in the sand, before tearing off down the beach. Corwin's small, white coffin was surrounded with his favourite balloon animals and soft toys. His parents said on their internet blog site they were happy to have been able to have long cuddles with their only son the day he passed away. "We managed to keep our last promises - he's had marshmallows - just one - didn't want any more. But he continued his intake of ice-cream and ice-blocks. He can have as much as he wants we told him, because he's been so good and so brave."
On the blog his father Simon described the night they finally lost their boy: "Corwin gave a few hitched breaths in his sleep, and died peacefully after an active day. He seemed determined to fit in as much as possible - like he knew."
At Thursday's service Corwin's mother, Cathy, described her only son as a full-on bundle of energy who was full of love and light, and "loved beauty". Her little boy "loved nature, flowers and beautiful music".
A projector screen played a constant slideshow of photographs of the smiling boy, taking his first steps on the beach, looking cool in Dad's sunglasses, grinning mischievously from a tree he'd managed to climb, driving the car on Dad's lap.
Carol Martin paid tribute to her only grandson. "I must live with the simple fact that Corwin was in my care and under my protection when he had the accident that would lead to his demise," she said.
"He was a very strong and strong-willed boy... he would wear any T-shirt, as long as it was red."
Corwin wanted to learn to drive at age one, and climb so far up trees it would make you gasp, his dad said.
Relatives and family friends spoke of a beautiful, angelic, smiling face and a great light in the world. He was nurtured and cherished by gentle, kind parents who adored every day with him.
His father paid tribute to his son on the blog site, to which people had sent tributes from around the world. "Thank you Corwin. Your life was a pure, sweet and simple poem, a gift, and a lesson in courage for us all."
