Are Emollient Creams a Fire Risk?

Emollient creams, lotions, sprays and gels are safe to use, and for many skin conditions they are essential. The fire risk does not come from the cream in the tub. It comes from what is left behind: dried residue soaked into bedding, clothing, dressings and bandages makes those fabrics catch fire far more easily, and burn faster and hotter once they do¹.

That matters because the things that start these fires are ordinary household items. A dropped cigarette, a candle, a lighter, a cooker ring or an old bar heater can all ignite fabric carrying emollient residue, and fire services describe the result as a fire that can cause serious injury or death¹. Around 50 fatal fires a year are caused by emollients, according to fire service figures³.

The answer is not to stop using your cream. The National Fire Chiefs Council says people should continue using emollients if they need to, but should be aware of and manage the fire risk, particularly when emollients are absorbed into fabrics⁴. In practice that means keeping contaminated fabric away from every ignition source, telling everyone in the household, and being especially careful with smoking and heating.

Emollients are safe to use, but the residue on fabric catches fire

Fire and rescue services are consistent on this point: emollient products such as creams, liquids and gels are safe to use and vital for the skin conditions they treat, and the risk exists when a residue gets onto bedding, clothing or dressings¹. The cream is not itself flammable. What changes is the fabric it soaks into¹⁰.

Even a single application can leave enough residue to matter. London Fire Brigade says emollient and skin creams are not themselves flammable, but residue on fabrics such as bedding, clothing and dressings can increase flammability, even from just one application¹⁰. Residue builds up over time on clothing, bedding, bandages and soft furnishings, so the risk grows with repeated use rather than fading⁹.

Once that residue is dry, the fabric behaves differently. Fire services say the dried residue will make the fabric much more flammable, and if an ignition source such as a lighter, cigarette, candle or naked flame comes into contact with it, a fire could start quickly and may result in serious injury or death¹. If contaminated fabric does ignite, it can burn far more quickly and result in a more intense, rapidly developing fire¹¹.

The practical consequence is simple. Anything that has had cream on it, whether clothing, nightwear, sheets, a dressing or a bandage, should be treated as more dangerous around heat than the same item would otherwise be. That applies to the person wearing it and to anyone else in the room.

How emollient residue makes bedding and clothing burn

The mechanism is absorption. Emollients can leave a flammable residue when they are absorbed into fabrics like bed sheets and clothing⁵. The fabric acts like a wick: the residue is held in the fibres, dries, and stays there between applications and between washes.

Fire services describe the effect in stages. Residue builds up on clothing, bedding, bandages and soft furnishings, which makes these materials ignite more easily and burn more rapidly⁹. When emollient products get onto bedding, clothing, bandages or other fabrics, the dried residue makes the fabric more flammable if a heat or ignition source such as a cigarette contacts it². If the fabric is exposed to a naked flame or heat source such as a cigarette, lighter, candle, cooker or heater, it can catch fire, burn intensely and allow fire to spread rapidly⁴.

That is why the advice covers dressings and bandages as well as clothes. If people who use an emollient cream cover it with a dressing or clothing, there is a danger that smoking or using a naked flame could cause those dressings or clothing to catch fire¹. Clothing, bedding, dressings and bandages with cream on them can catch fire very easily if they are close to a naked flame, heater or cooker¹².

Where the danger comes from: cigarettes, flames and heaters

Fire services put it plainly: in combination with smoking, naked flames or heat sources, emollients are a high risk³. The cream does not need to be near the flame itself. The fabric does.

Smoking is the most frequently named cause. Emollient residue on smokers' clothing and bedding can act as a combustible and easily catch fire⁸, and smokers should be made aware of the added fire risk associated with using emollients, as clothing could be ignited by a dropped cigarette or match⁷. The advice from fire services is direct: do not smoke if you, or anyone near you, is using emollient creams in contact with skin, clothes, dressings or bandages⁶.

Naked flames and cooking come next. Never use a naked flame or ignition source such as matches, lighters and candles, because your clothing could be contaminated by an emollient product¹. Anyone using emollients or skin creams regularly should keep well away from fire, naked flames or heat sources¹⁰, and creams should not be kept in close proximity to open flames, including candles, gas stoves and heaters⁸.

Heaters deserve their own warning. Fire services list flame, cigarette or close heat sources like open fires, electric bar, gas or halogen heaters as the ignition sources that matter⁹, and name the use of old halogen and bar-style heaters as a particular risk³. If you use emollients, this is especially important when heating your home, because emollient products can make clothing and soft furnishings more flammable¹⁴.

Paraffin-free creams carry a risk too

It was once assumed that only paraffin-based emollients were a fire concern. That has changed. Fire services now say that new research has shown all emollients can present a fire risk⁵. The warning is written to cover both: if a paraffin-based or paraffin-free emollient product such as a cream gets onto fabrics, the dried residue will make the fabric more flammable¹⁶.

The same applies across product types. All types of emollient products, when impregnated into fabric, present an increased fire risk, including products that contain paraffin, contain natural oils, or contain other flammable ingredients¹¹. Sprays, liquids and gels are named alongside creams in fire service guidance¹⁸, and the creams can easily ignite and intensify fires due to their high oil content⁸.

So the form of the product does not decide how careful you need to be. A spray, a lotion or a gel that soaks into a sleeve or a sheet leaves the same kind of residue as an ointment. Treat every emollient you use as one that makes fabric more flammable, and apply the same rules to all of them.

Telling everyone in the household and visitors

A fire risk that only one person knows about is a fire risk that is not managed. Fire services advise that you inform all household members and visitors about the potential fire risks associated with emollient creams⁸. That includes family, friends, carers and anyone staying overnight.

The person using the cream needs to know too. Carers should ensure that the person using the emollient product is aware of the fire risk and is provided with fire safety advice as appropriate²⁰. Those who prescribe, dispense and apply these products should tell their patients or customers about the fire risk and the associated fire safety advice²⁰, so ask at the pharmacy or at your appointment if nobody has mentioned it.

A simple household routine helps:

• Tell everyone who lives there, and anyone who stays over, that emollient residue makes fabric more flammable⁸
• Agree that nobody smokes in the same room as someone wearing emollient cream, and never in bed⁶
• Keep candles, lighters and matches out of the rooms where the cream is applied and where bedding is changed¹
• Keep clothing, bedding and dressings with cream on them away from heaters, cookers and open fires⁴
• Wash and change bedding and clothing regularly so residue does not build up⁹
• If you provide care, make sure risk assessments and care provision take the fire risk and fire safety advice into account²⁰

Staying safe with heating, smoking and washing

The everyday precautions are not complicated, but they need to become habits. Fire services advise anyone using emollients or skin creams regularly to keep well away from fire, naked flames or heat sources¹⁰. In winter, when heating is on and windows are shut, that matters more, which is why the National Fire Chiefs Council and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency issue a joint winter safety warning about emollients⁹.

Heating needs particular care. Avoid storing emollient creams near radiators or in bathrooms where high humidity can affect their efficacy and potentially increase the risk of fire⁸. Keep soft furnishings and clothing that may carry residue clear of heaters, and do not drape washing in front of a bar or halogen heater.

Smoking needs a firm rule. Fire services say do not smoke if you, or anyone near you, is using emollient creams in contact with skin, clothes, dressings or bandages⁶. If someone in the household smokes, keep smoking materials well away from anyone using an emollient, and never smoke in bed²¹.

Washing matters because residue accumulates. Change and wash bedding and clothing regularly, and treat contaminated items as more dangerous until they are clean⁹. If fabric with residue on it does ignite, it can burn far more quickly and produce a more intense, rapidly developing fire¹¹, so the aim is to reduce how much residue is in the fabric at any one time.

Where to get help and advice

Fire and rescue services across the UK publish emollient fire safety advice, and several offer a home fire safety check. The National Fire Chiefs Council and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency run a joint emollient safety campaign, and you can complete an online home fire safety check for advice at www.ohfsc.co.uk, or search Know the Fire Risk to find out more⁹.

If you care for someone who uses emollients, tell their care provider and ask what fire safety advice they have been given. Fire services say those who prescribe, dispense and apply these products should tell their patients or customers about the fire risk²⁰, and carers should make sure risk assessments and care provision take the fire risk into account²⁰.

For households with additional needs, our guide to fire risk checks for a vulnerable person's home sets out what to look at room by room, and extra help in an emergency explains the support available for older, disabled and medically dependent households. If someone in the home uses oxygen as well as emollients, read fire safety when someone uses oxygen therapy, because the two risks combine.

The National Fire Chiefs Council has been calling on the Government to introduce clearer warnings on emollient cream packaging and to ensure that users are properly informed about the fire risks²². Until that happens, the advice above is what keeps households safe.