Compact fluorescent bulb sparked, smoked
A P.E.I. homeowner is warning others about old compact fluorescent light bulbs after he says a bulb in his basement burned out in a disturbing fashion.
Alan Davison says a CFL bulb burned out last weekend while he was puttering around in the basement of his home in Stratford.
"Smoke was basically being forced out, almost like steam out of here. It was quite a plume, almost coming a foot or so, and I could see the orange glow and there was sparks coming out and I got it shut off pretty quick," said Davison.
Davison installed the bulbs in his home years ago to save energy. Most of them work just fine, but he says this has happened to him before.
"This is the second one that's done this to me. There was one about 10 years ago," said Davison.
Provincial fire marshal Dave Rossiter says he has heard of similar reports on P.E.I. and elsewhere in Canada, but that the number of incidents has gone down in recent years.
"It seems to be older bulbs is what we run into. When you look at the bulb, they seem to be weathered quite a bit or whatnot. It's usually not new ones," said Rossiter.
"It's called an 'end-of-life' issue with the bulbs and it all kind of stems from the ballast that's being used at the base of the bulb."
No 'shock or fire hazard' associated with failure
Rossiter says he and his counterparts across Canada have voiced their concern to Health Canada and the Underwriters Laboratories of Canada, a product safety testing, certification and inspection organization.
But Health Canada says most complaints of smoky burn-outs date from 2008 or earlier.
Health Canada told CBC News: "Certification agencies have advised that this failure does not present a shock or fire hazard for approved products."
The department advises homeowners to replace bulbs that flicker, scorch or show signs of overheating.
However, Davison says he is going to do more than that.
As a precaution, he and wife Susan are replacing their CFLs with incandescent bulbs and energy saving LEDs.
"I understand the manufacturers have done quite a bit to improve upon the original designs … but this is a little too much for me and I can't tell, you know, the older ones from the new."
