Although it's always prudent to discuss the dangers of playing with matches and the importance of changing the batteries in our smoke detectors during Fire Prevention Week, local fire officials are warning about a new danger this year.
Compact fluorescent bulbs, known to many as CFL bulbs, are often spoken about because of their energy-efficiency. However, they can be dangerous if not used properly, warn Pottstown Fire Chief Richard Lengel and Pottstown Fire Marshal William Smale.
Lengel said the bulbs themselves are safe and can live up to their reputation with regard to energy cost savings, but if they're not used properly or if they're used in light fixtures they weren't designed to be used in, they can result in damaging and expensive fires.
"The thing we want to make clear is there's nothing wrong with CFLs, but use them the way they're supposed to be used," Lengel said. "The public needs to be educated. They go into Costco and they see these displays for these CFLs" and buy a large package of them and replace all their light bulbs with them without reading the instructions.
CFLS cannot be used in lighting units where the base of the CFL is encased or enclosed. "The key is letting air around" the base of the CFL bulbs, Lengel said. That means track lighting, recessed lighting and any fixture that encloses the CFL bulb is not safe to have a CFL bulb in.
Smale, who was previously the deputy fire marshal in Whitpain, explained that he has seen many near fires as a result of improperly used CFL bulbs in Whitpain. He said he's noticed the near fires in Pottstown while doing recent business inspections. One sign of a near fire as a result of improper CFL use is when the base of the CFL bulb is turning brown.
Smale said sometimes people think they have a bad bulb when it burns out soon after its installed. In reality, the bulb is burning out because it's overheating and they're lucky the bulb burnt out and didn't start a fire.
CFLs could "puff" smoke or could "explode and cause a fire" if used in a fixture that doesn't allow for air circulation around the base, Smale said.
Although there are likely many people misusing CFL bulbs within the borough limits, Smale and Lengel said they have not yet had any fires as a result of improper CFL bulb use.
"We want to get the information out to the public before it's a problem," Lengel said.
