By Sylvain Pedneault via Wikimedia Commons The fire safety benefit of brominated and chlorinated flame retardants is questionable because they can increase the release of carbon monoxide, toxic gases, and soot which are the cause of most fire deaths and injuries (Stec and Hull 2010). For example, in one experiment, compared to untreated foam, pentaBDE-treated foam released approximately twice the amount of smoke (833 m2/kg vs. 413 m2/kg), seven times the amount of carbon monoxide (0.13 kg/kg vs. 0.018 kg/kg), and nearly 70 times the amount of soot (0.88 kg/kg vs. 0.013 kg/kg) but only provided three additional seconds before ignition compared to untreated foam (19 seconds vs. 16 seconds) (Jayakody et al. 2000). Also, the California furniture standard, California Department of Consumer Affairs Technical Bulletin 117 (TB 117 2000) on the flammability of foam inside furniture neither protects the foam from ignition nor reduces the severity of a fire, two measures of efficacy (Babrauskas 1983; Schuhmann and Hartzell 1989; Talley 1995). In applications where chemical flame retardants are considered for use, an investigation should address whether flame retardancy is needed (i.e. breast feeding pillows do not need flame retardancy) and if so, whether appropriate fire safety benefits may be obtained from using chemicals or techniques that do not present such serious potential adverse environmental and human health consequences. In some cases, reducing the sources of ignition can prevent fires without adding potentially hazardous chemicals to consumer products .
Read more about flame retardants in the San Antonio Statement- its full of good well documented scientific info.