Tuesday, May 27, 2025
The hardwood sector is mobilizing to inform consumers about the advantages of genuine wood products over plastic imitations in the wake of the disastrous fires that occurred in California earlier this year. More than 18,000 homes and buildings were burned by the fires, which raged from San Diego to Los Angeles. Associations Real American Hardwood and National Wood Flooring claim that the destruction was exacerbated by the usage of plastic goods in these structures.
“It is a well-known fact among firefighters that the use of plastic products in homes and businesses makes fires more difficult to fight,” notes Paul Hoffeditz, former Battalion Chief at the Rock Island Fire Department in Rock Island, Illinois. “We often encounter things like PVC pipes and luxury vinyl floors in newer construction. Unfortunately, products like these burn faster and hotter than those made using natural materials like real wood. This means we often can’t save the building, because when you’re fighting a fire, minutes count.”
Burning plastics releases hazardous toxins that often render even salvageable structures uninhabitable. “More and more plastics and vinyls are being used in furniture, flooring, trim, and countertops,” points out Hoffeditz, “all of which release hydrogen cyanide when they burn. This is a highly toxic chemical.” Even brief exposure is exceedingly deadly because, according to the World Health Organization, a human can be killed by 300 mg/m3 of hydrogen cyanide in the air in about 10 minutes. “One solution is to use real wood products instead of plastic, confirms Hoffeditz. He continues, “There’s a pretty well-known video produced that shows a side-by-side comparison of identical rooms burning. One is made using synthetic materials like plastics, and one is made using natural materials like real wood. The room made using plastic materials burns in less than five minutes. The room made using natural materials takes more than 30 minutes to burn. The natural products give your family more time to reach safety, and give firefighters more time to save your home.”
According to the groups, there is also the environmental concern to take into account. Plastic flooring sold 5.8 billion square feet in 2024. 15.9 million square feet a day is what that amounts to. “Hardwood products are safe for humans and the environment,” says Ian Faight with the American Hardwood Information Center, “even when they burn. American hardwoods are used as a heating and cooking source throughout the world, so it’s safe to say that burning hardwood is a part of our everyday life.”
The fact that real wood goods are eco-friendly is an additional advantage. “Trees take in carbon dioxide during their growth cycle and produce oxygen,” comments Anita Howard with the National Wood Flooring Association. “What’s even more impressive, though, is that the products made using real wood continue to store carbon throughout their entire service life. Your wood dining room table, your wood floors, even your wood-framed artwork have a great environmental story to tell that no plastic product could ever match.”
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