Comfort Solutions Introduces Flare Mattress to Firefighters

Comfort Solutions has launched a significant marketing initiative involving its new Flare™ mattress, aimed at one of the most important and deserving market segments for the sleep innovation: U.S. firefighters and emergency service (EMS) responders.

The company, which introduced the patented-pending Flare design at the winter Las Vegas bedding market, is now slated to launch the Flare mattress at the FDIC 2013 convention in Indianapolis, the world’s largest firefighter training conference and exhibition.

At the show, Comfort Solutions will present two King Koil® Extended Life™ models in twin XL sizes—one in the new Flare design and the other in a conventional mattress configuration for comparison.

Noting that in twin size, the Flare mattress provides 15 percent more sleeping space than the twins firefighters and EMS responders typically sleep on—without replacing existing bed frames or taking up extra space—Comfort Solutions’ Brandon Dunn emphasized that “research has long demonstrated the relationship between increased sleeping space and the quality of a person’s sleep.

“Because emergency organizations usually use smaller mattresses to conserve space in sleeping quarters, we can think of few other professions or situations where the addition of as much as a half-foot of side-to-side space for an adult would be more needed or welcomed,” explained Dunn, who is company vice president of business development and a volunteer firefighter for 16 years.

Dunn, who will help represent Comfort Solutions at the FDIC 2013 convention, was also present for the donation late last month of new King Koil Extended Life Flare mattresses to the Mebane, NC fire department where he volunteers.

Replacing mattresses that were up to 20 years old, the new twin XL Flare models will accommodate the department’s staff of 15 career and 40 volunteer firefighters who serve the community’s 20,000 residents.

Commenting on the donation, Mebane fire chief Bob Louis noted that “our firefighters don’t often get to sleep through the night, so it’s very important to our community that they’re comfortable and can sleep well during the times they can.

“The extra six inches of sleep surface is a significant advantage to an adult sleeping on a smaller mattress,” he said. “The fact that these are Extended Life beds also gives us confidence that they’ll last a long time. This donation is a tremendous benefit to both our firefighters and our community.”

On a more global scale, a 2007 International Association of Fire Chiefs’ study on the effects of sleep deprivation on firefighters and EMS responders reported that “perhaps the most important fact [of the research] 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.”

Comfort Solutions’ 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, 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 not only to have supplied the Mebane Fire Department with new Flare beds, but also with the opportunity to present the design at the upcoming FDIC 2013 convention,” said Dave Roberts, Comfort Solutions president and COO.

“One of the greatest benefits of the Flare concept is its ability to significantly improve the comfort and quality of sleep of those whose sleep is often compromised by the nature of their work.”

For more information, visit www.comfortsolutions.com.

About Comfort Solutions: Founded in 1898, Comfort Solutions has 10 domestic mattress factories and maintains an international organization that serves 80 countries. The company’s “Never Stop Dreaming” brand message embodies its goal to enhance the quality of life for every person through better sleep. In keeping with that objective, Comfort Solutions dedicates itself to sleep science, research and applied technologies that make the difference between beds that merely provide a sleeping surface, and those that transform the sleep experience.