Faulty light bulbs pose fire hazard, officials say

[five_alarm]

CALGARY, AB - Thousands of defective compact fluorescent light bulbs that have been sold across the country could short-circuit and cause fires, safety officials warn. The bulbs have led to two fires in Alberta alone. One bulb short-circuited in the home of a Fort Saskatchewan man, said Betty Lynn Akins, who investigates fires for the local fire department. "He was having a nap at the time and it did activate his smoke alarm, so that made him aware there was an issue in his home." No one was injured and the fire was quickly extinguished, she said, but "it could have been a lot worse." The bulbs are made by a company in China and are labelled as "Globe mini-spiral 13 watts." They also are stamped with a label reading "UL" or "Underwriters Laboratories," referring to a respected global firm that tests product reliability and safety. However...

Source: cbc.ca (http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2004/12/02/light-bulbs-fires041202.html&linkid=1164&parent=news(headlines)&)

[barnjack]

wow i just had a terrible thougtht, how many of these bulbs are in our schools givin todays incentives geared towards energy savings. this is a great article and we are posting it up in alll public places. we have had several concerned citizens calll the dept about this and we have found these bulbs . originally they gave a batch number BH 1503. We are asking anyone who has this brand of bulb to remove them batch number or not. Hay Lakes Fire Department