Time and again one hears of disastrous fires in public spaces such as discotheques, cinemas and theatres.

In December 2004 more than 175 people lost their lives when a fire broke out in a discotheque in Buenos Aires, and 130 visitors of a cinema in Istanbul were injured when the textile stage decoration caught fire. And recently a burning candle in a provincial theatre south of Cairo caused a fire that cost 29 lives.
Textiles are usually the first materials that make a fire spread. They can cause serious damages (like conventional stage curtains in a theatre) but can, on the other hand, also lower risks and protect against fire, if flame-retardant fabrics are used.
“Trevira CS textiles are such materials. They are made from polyester fibres and filament yarns with inherently flame-retardant properties and meet all international fire safety standards,” a Trevira spokesman said. 
“All kinds of interior furnishings can be made of Trevira CS; curtains, blinds, upholstery fabrics, wall coverings etc.   Leading theatres, cinemas and concert halls around the world choose Trevira CS fabrics for their stage curtains and seat coverings for safety and the best overall performance.”
Most theatre and stage curtains are constructed using velvet fabric.  These velvets can be made from various fibres such as cotton, rayon or man-made fibres.  Cotton, rayon and other fibres must be treated with flame-retardant chemicals to the surface of the fabric.  The flame-retardant properties are not permanent and can wear off or come up after cleaning the curtain.  If there is a fire, the chemicals used on the fabric’s surface will cause toxic fumes.
“Permanently flame-retardant polyester fibres, such as Trevira CS are not treated with a surface flame-retardant chemical but rather the flame-retardant properties are permanently built into the molecular chain of the fibre and cannot be removed,” the spokesman explained. 
“The entire raw material is inherently flame-retardant, not just the surface as is the case with surface or topically treated fabrics.  The FR performance therefore cannot wear off or wash off.  There is no danger of toxic fumes from the curtains in the event of a fire.  The flame-retardant properties are permanent and last over the lifetime of the fabric.”
Depending on what fibre is used in manufacturing the velvet fabrics there are other performance attributes which are important.  In cotton velvets, colours tend to bleaching out or fading out over the course of time due to insufficient light-fastness.  Also problems occur with cotton velvets with staining, drapeability and abrasion resistance. 
The cost of care for cotton and rayon velvets far exceeds the costs to care for inherently flame-retardant polyester fibres, which can easily be laundered and are highly durable. Trevira CS can be laundered and requires only low amounts of water, detergent and energy.  Overall, Trevira CS velvets offer 36 per cent cost savings and offer a 3.3 times longer life and are 39 per cent lower in cost during the fabric’s life than cotton.
Trevira CS is environmentally friendly with an Oekotex 100 certificate stating the material contains no harmful substances and the production of Trevira CS has been certified according to ISO 9002 and the European ecological audit.  It is also environmentally friendly when used to manufacture velvets as no additional chemical treatments are needed.
Trevira has been marketing flame-retardant polyester fibres for more than 25 years.