Compact Fluorescent Bulb a Fire Risk?

This article was posted 02/10/2011 and is most likely outdated.

Compact Fluorescent Bulb a Fire Risk?

Topic - Safety
Subject -Compact Fluorescent Bulbs a Fire Risk?

February 10, 2011
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Compact Fluorescent Lamp a Fire Risk?

An article that surfaced in April 2010 on the Internet warned about a fire hazard associated with compact fluorescent lamps (CFL bulbs) and has been traveling the email circuit:

“Below is a picture of a CFL light bulb from my bathroom. I turned it on the other day and then smelled smoke after a few minutes. Four inch flames were spewing out of the side of the ballast like a blow torch! I immediately turned off the lights. But I'm sure it would have caused a fire if I was not right there. Imagine if the kids had left the lights on as usual when they were not in the room. “

This has been checked out by Snopes, and stamped FALSE.

According to the Snopes article, CFLs don’t burn out the way incandescent light bulbs do. Instead, as they near the ends of their lives, they grow dimmer. While some CFL bulbs merely stop emitting light when they finally quit working, others kick the bucket with a dramatic “pop” sound and then vent a distinct odor. A few even release a bit of smoke at their termination.

Healthy CFL bulbs may emit a bit of smoke and smell and have burnt-looking bases when they die, that that’s as it should be – there’s no fire danger to any of that, and indeed the bulbs are functioning properly when they act that way.

Get the full story from the source: http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/household/cflbulb.asp

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Comments

I had an event a couple of years ago with the CFL's. I was snoozing peacefully in the recliner one afternoon to be awakened by a BANG! While looking at the window for the bullet hole, the smoke detector goes off. As if enough wasn't happening already! The CFL curly have blown itself off the lamp and glass was everywhere. This was a base down lamp.

Recently, I had another CLF burn out. The screw on part separated from the base. I had noticed that it was looking odd for a day or two and when I investigated, I found it that way. Don't know what would have happened if I hadn't noticed it.

I know that the CFL's have been getting better, but that first event was more than enough to make me worry about them. What would have happened if I were away and used a lamp on a timer and it blew up like that? I think their claim that it is not a fire hazard is because they speculate that most installations are not close to material that could burn. That could be a dangerous assumption, since most table lamps have a shade and many are close to curtains.

David February 17 2011, 4:25 pm EST

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