Fire hazard in my kitchen!

[Mr. Sir]

We have ten of these recessed ceiling lights in our kitchen. My wife woke me up this morning and said one of them was making a "buzzing" sound. I said OK and rolled over. A few minutes later, she came back and said it's now making a "sparking" sound and smoke is coming out of it. I got up quickly.

Apparently, the bulb had some kind of meltdown. Kind of scary to think that it could have started a fire. I'm wondering if this is a fluke or if these lights have a history of problems.

 

[woodworkingboy]

Wow, that does look dangerous. Is there a telephone number on the package, for consumer advise? I'd make enquiries, possibly save some poor soul from a fire, if a recall is in order.

 

[SkwerI]

Looks like you have the makings of a lawsuit there, Brett. Or at least some sort of recall/ compensation deal from GE. I'd have an electrician check out the light fixture very closely before jumping to conclusions, though.

 

[NeTree]

I'd submit that that's the wrong lamp for the fixture; CFL's have discreet components that need to be cooled; not surrounded like that. In a typical floodlight installation, the sides of the lamp are exposed.

Just another example of why CFL's SUCK.

 

[Newfie]

I'd add that CFL's aren't designed to be on dimmer switches, are your's switched that way Brett?

 

[Mr. Sir]

Nope, no dimmers. I just read ALL of the fine print on the packaging and there's no mention of restrictions for use in recessed fixtures. In fact, it says if they are used outdoors, they MUST be in an enclosed fixture. These lights do get hot, but not as hot as a standard incandescent.