The political firefight over a chemical that helps keep televisions from bursting into flames has spread to – where else? – the television airwaves.

Several Maine television stations are airing advertisements, paid for by a chemical industry trade group, suggesting that bills under consideration in the state Legislature could put people and property at risk during a fire.

A legislative leader responded to the ad with some heat of her own.

Last week, lawmakers heard hours of testimony on a bill that would ban the chemical flame retardant known as “deca” in televisions, electronics and other household products sold in Maine.

A type of polybrominated diphenyl ether, or PBDE, deca is the most common flame retardant used in plastic television casings.

Proponents of the ban, including the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, contend that deca is a neurological toxin that seeps out, often in the form of dust. Deca has been found in the environment, in wildlife and, most alarmingly, in human mothers’ breast milk and in toddlers.

The Bromine Science and Environmental Forum’s ad opens with film of a blazing fire and the words “Dangerous” and “Deadly” on the screen.

“In a matter of minutes, fire can destroy a home, a business, a family,” the narrator says in the ad, which is airing this week on WLBZ-TV, Channel 2, in the Bangor area. “But in Maine today, special interests want to ban flame-resistant products that help prevent fires, even though independent analysis shows the most common flame retardant in use today is safe and effective, protecting property and saving thousands of lives.”

With images of a house rooftop and windows engulfed in flames, the narrator concludes with: “Tell your state legislators, ‘Don’t play with fire, keep Maine families safe.'”

According to the group’s Web site, the Bromine Science and Environmental Forum is a trade group of major manufacturers formed to further “scientific and regulatory understanding of bromine and brominated products.”

The ad prompted a stinging rebuke by the lead sponsor of the bill to ban deca, House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree.

“The fact that they would spend all of this money and resources into a coordinated attempt to protect the chemical industry – while the product they’re defending is slowly poisoning babies and the environment – is unconscionable,” Pingree, D-North Haven, said Monday in a statement.

“If they’re really nervous that they’re going to lose on the issue, they should come to Augusta with proof of their argument instead of launching a statewide smear campaign aimed at deceiving the public into supporting a chemical that is hazardous to their health.”

Several representatives of deca manufacturers did speak during last week’s legislative hearing. They defended the safety record of deca and cautioned lawmakers on the Natural Resources Committee that banning the chemical could force product manufacturers to switch to less-studied and potentially less effective flame retardants.

Many major television and computer manufacturers have already shifted away from deca. Maine also banned several related PBDEs, known as “octa” and “penta,” several years ago.

In the statement from Pingree’s office, John Martell with the Professional Firefighters of Maine said that fumes released by burning deca-treated products also pose risks to firefighters.

“We would never support legislation that would put the lives of Maine people at risk,” said Martell, a Portland firefighter.

In addition to the DEP, Pingree’s bill has the support of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Academy of Pediatrics and various environmental and health groups.