more or less since the time of its invention , it was known that you could put chemical flame retardents into the compound and impart fire resistance to the foam , but these agents pushed up the price and knocked down the quality so that the furniture manufacturers would n't buy it because you do n't sell settees on the basis of their behaviour in fire and the public did n't want to pay the extra price , so there the matter seemed to be deadlocked , firemen continued to choke in the fumes , the odd baby continued to suffocate in its cot and the industry continued with its research .