Diamond Jewelry Forums   Picture Gallery   Video Gallery   Journal

   
 Search Posted Today Most Active Help   
 » Home »  » Pricescope café »  » Family, Home & Health »  » Lamp exploded -- small fire!


  

 Lamp exploded -- small fire!

P:  5/10/2007 12:02:58 AM  
decodelighted
decodelighted

Ideal Rock
Total Posts: 8,629
Last Post: 11/24/2009
Member Since: 7/27/2005
 
Scary thing happened tonight when I was home alone. I was standing in the kitchen making a Pop Tart (don't judge ) when the pendant lamp near our sink - over the trash can EXPLODED!!! Four or five sharp cracking explosions followed by a roar of fire & flames shooting out of the holes in the shade -- before I could even move the ceramic shade dropped to the floor & smoke was everywhere!!!

Our kitchen fire extinquisher was right below the fire & I couldn't get to it! So I ran downstairs to shut all the breakers to that area of the house & by the time I got back there was a smoky smell but no visible fire.

I called 911 anyway & the fire folks came out to make sure there wasn't any INTERNAL electrical fire going on ... I guess it was just a faulty lamp -- but if I hadn't been STANDING THERE when it happened, the whole garbage can could have ignited or worse!

Somehow these things always happen when DH is out ...

But ... shamefully, we've had our fresh replacement smoke detectors stacked up in a "project zone" for a couple of months now -- un-hung. If a fire HAD started, say overnight ... we wouldn't have been alerted.

So -- in addition to hanging ours tonight -- I thought I'd pass on the close call & warning to all my Pscope buds.

ALSO -- no Ikea lamps, EVER. I had a lamp with a raffia shade short out once before -- also caught fire - but much worse because it was PAPER. This lamp was also from Ikea. The bulb wasn't even broken ... it was the WIRING inside the FIXTURE!!! Just say "no" to Ikea lamps!!!!!!!!!!

Posted:  5/10/2007 12:02:58 AM

 There are 21 replies to this message.  There are 21 replies on this page.

P: 5/10/2007 12:20:03 AM
fabcrab
fabcrab

Cut Rock
Total Posts: 463
Last Post: 6/27/2009
Member Since: 9/2/2006
 
Awww I'm so sorry deco. I'm so glad you're ok!!!!! You made some really smart decisions, if that was me I probably would've just stood there screaming.

Funny how you talk about IKEA lamps. I'm kind of angry because our Ikea lamp can only be changed with Ikea lightbulbs .

Posted:  5/10/2007 12:20:03 AM
P: 5/10/2007 1:07:26 AM
monarch64
monarch64

Ideal Rock
Total Posts: 9,557
Last Post: 11/24/2009
Member Since: 8/12/2005
 
Oh, sorry to hear you had a fire Deco!  Sounds like you kept your head though, glad everything turned out ok.

I have two nightstand hopeful lamps from Ikea that I purchased about 8 months ago sitting in boxes in our bedroom...the shades they came with are so crappy that I have never put them together and plugged them in...what a waste of a mere $20!  I will be disposing of them based on this thread this weekend!  I wouldn't want to give them away knowing they are so frought with hazards and that they are a nuisance due to the lightbulb issue.

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined." Henry David Thoreau

Posted:  5/10/2007 1:07:26 AM
P: 5/10/2007 5:52:33 AM
ladykemma
ladykemma

Ideal Rock
Total Posts: 2,194
Last Post: 6/16/2007
Member Since: 1/2/2006
 
golly! glad you were home.

Posted:  5/10/2007 5:52:33 AM
P: 5/10/2007 9:50:05 AM
sumbride
sumbride

Ideal Rock
Total Posts: 3,867
Last Post: 1/21/2009
Member Since: 2/17/2006
 
SCARY!!! I'm glad you're ok and that you were home!

We have 2 ikea lamps but only use them when we're home. Now maybe they should go!

Posted:  5/10/2007 9:50:05 AM
P: 5/10/2007 10:50:57 AM
laine
laine

Ideal Rock
Total Posts: 583
Last Post: 11/24/2009
Member Since: 2/21/2006
 
Wow, thats scary! I was thinking of getting an ikea light fixture for my kitchen, but I think I'll pass. I actually just got rid of ikea light in the dining room; it didn't come with any sort of trim ring so you could see the wiring in the ceiling and it looked crappy. I ended up using the glass shade, so it wasn't a complete waste.

You really ought to complain to Ikea about this--they need to know that there are issues with their lights!

Posted:  5/10/2007 10:50:57 AM
P: 5/10/2007 11:11:51 AM
Miranda
Miranda

Ideal Rock
Total Posts: 4,042
Last Post: 9/24/2009
Member Since: 2/18/2006
 
Wow Deco, I'm so glad you are okay.  That is scary.  I have Ikea lamps in my boys' rooms.  I'd better be going lamp shopping.  Things like that ALWAYS happen to me when DH is out of town, too.

BTW...What kind of poptart???  Choc Fudge are my favorite.  Yuuuuuummmmmmm.

Posted:  5/10/2007 11:11:51 AM
P: 5/10/2007 11:43:53 AM
FireGoddess
FireGoddess

Ideal Rock
Total Posts: 12,145
Last Post: 3/23/2009
Member Since: 1/25/2005
 
Date: 5/10/2007 12:02:58 AM
Author:decodelighted
Scary thing happened tonight when I was home alone. I was standing in the kitchen making a Pop Tart (don't judge )

Ah, that was a hilarious start to my morning.    Thanks.

The fire though, is scary.  We own one Ikea lamp that someone just gave to us - will never buy one.  I need to replace the battery in our smoke detector.  I've been putting it off because when it was working - it went off all the time since it's kinda too close to the kitchen.  Even when there was no visible smoke. 






Posted:  5/10/2007 11:43:53 AM
P: 5/10/2007 11:44:13 AM
Tacori E-ring
Tacori E-ring

Ideal Rock
Total Posts: 16,103
Last Post: 11/24/2009
Member Since: 8/15/2005
 
How scary Deco! I am so glad you were there to solve the problem.

Posted:  5/10/2007 11:44:13 AM
P: 5/10/2007 12:25:46 PM
Skippy123
Skippy123

Ideal Rock
Total Posts: 19,840
Last Post: 11/24/2009
Member Since: 11/24/2006
 
Date: 5/10/2007 11:44:13 AM
Author: Tacori E-ring
How scary Deco! I am so glad you were there to solve the problem.


I agree.  Thank goodness you weren't asleep in another room.

Skippy






"The only things that stand between a person and what they want in life are the will to try it, and the faith to believe it's possible" Rich Devos

Posted:  5/10/2007 12:25:46 PM
P: 5/10/2007 12:31:57 PM
Mara
Mara

Ideal Rock
Total Posts: 27,936
Last Post: 11/25/2009
Member Since: 10/30/2002
 
yikes deco what a scary experience!! glad to hear you are okay and what a stroke of luck that you WERE there to catch it. i am always paranoid about something happening to our house while we are gone (and what if portia is home etc)...

mmm pop tart.

________________________________

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

-Albert Einstein

Posted:  5/10/2007 12:31:57 PM
P: 5/10/2007 12:35:50 PM
decodelighted
decodelighted

Ideal Rock
Total Posts: 8,629
Last Post: 11/24/2009
Member Since: 7/27/2005
 
THANKS guys ... for the concern!!

I'm serious about this Ikea lamp thing ... after the first one went up in flames (five, six years ago?) I should have known better. They have such cute designs though!! But now TWO Ikea lamps -- literally on FIRE ... never again.

It was a nightlight kind of pendant fixture too ... that I've left on overnight MANY times .. SO SCARY. Both times the lamp incidents have happened to me I've been inches -- not more than 2 feet away. I keep thinking, if I'd been in the other room ... upstairs ... asleep.

My neighbors were funny though -- our street is TINY so it was a HUGE deal when four fire pick-up trucks descended about 10pm last night. The firemen outnumbered the RESIDENTS!! When I met up with them to tell my less-than-riviting story "A lamp exploded" they were all : "At least we have something to talk about this week!". THAT's how sleepy this town is!


ETA: The Pop Tart was "Low-Fat Strawberry" ... that had been in the cabinet FOREVER. I was starving cuz DH has been "feeding my cold" of late & I forgot how to feed myself ... HA!!

Posted:  5/10/2007 12:35:50 PM
P: 5/10/2007 2:25:05 PM
amylikesrocks
amylikesrocks

Cut Rock
Total Posts: 223
Last Post: 11/8/2007
Member Since: 4/2/2007
 
Wow, how scary.  Thank goodness you are OK and there was no property damage!  I won't buy anything at IKEA.  I use to but it never lasted.  Quality there stinks.

Oh, and I am so showing this thread to my husband and kids.  They think I'm miss neurotic because  I won't leave the house with any lights on.  I have a large house and they all complain because I have this compulsive need to make sure all the lights are OFF before I leave the house.  I have threatend to start docking allowance from my kids because they are the worst with leaving lights on.

Posted:  5/10/2007 2:25:05 PM
P: 5/10/2007 3:39:54 PM
Beacon
Beacon

Ideal Rock
Total Posts: 1,734
Last Post: 11/9/2009
Member Since: 7/14/2006
 
Thanks for this info Deco - what happened to your lamp is one of my many nervous neuroses.  I always worry things like that will happen and have sort of a latent/blatent fear of electrical things.  I drive my husband crazy asking "did you turn X off, Y off, etc."

I will email my friends who I think have an Ikea lamp.  Thankfully I don't have any, but I do have a cheap one that I am suspicious of.  Out she goes!

Glad you were right there to  prevent disaster.  That was so super lucky.  Glad you are ok!

Posted:  5/10/2007 3:39:54 PM
P: 5/10/2007 3:50:36 PM
Independent Gal
Independent Gal

Ideal Rock
Total Posts: 5,471
Last Post: 1/3/2009
Member Since: 11/12/2006
 
IKEA: Swedish for 'junk'.

Glad yer ok, Deco. Scary!

Posted:  5/10/2007 3:50:36 PM
P: 5/10/2007 4:44:29 PM
lovelylulu
lovelylulu

Ideal Rock
Total Posts: 2,001
Last Post: 11/24/2009
Member Since: 7/6/2005
 
Yikes!  and we have literally about 5 ikea lamps...

glad to hear that everything (minus the lamp) is just fine!

Posted:  5/10/2007 4:44:29 PM
P: 5/10/2007 7:44:11 PM
Gypsy
Gypsy

Ideal Rock
Total Posts: 14,306
Last Post: 11/20/2009
Member Since: 8/9/2005
 
Oh WOW Deco, I'm glad you were there. Get those fire alarms installed.

And no Ikea lamps. Check. Thanks for the heads up! My uncle has an ikea lamp in his home office-- I'll give him the heads up.

I'm shopping for lamps right now. Pottery Barns seems likely though.

Posted:  5/10/2007 7:44:11 PM
P: 5/10/2007 11:20:39 PM
Beacon
Beacon

Ideal Rock
Total Posts: 1,734
Last Post: 11/9/2009
Member Since: 7/14/2006
 
I wonder if there is somewhere you can report this - Better Business Bureau?  I don't know.  It might save someone's life if they knew these lamps were hazardous.

Posted:  5/10/2007 11:20:39 PM
P: 5/10/2007 11:28:26 PM
decodelighted
decodelighted

Ideal Rock
Total Posts: 8,629
Last Post: 11/24/2009
Member Since: 7/27/2005
 
Date: 5/10/2007 11:20:39 PM
Author: Beacon
I wonder if there is somewhere you can report this - Better Business Bureau? I don't know. It might save someone's life if they knew these lamps were hazardous.


You're right ... I don't have the model # of the five years ago lamp .. but I could describe it. Maybe I'll look online & see if its one they still offer. I'll see if I can find a # on the one that blew up last night ... it's pretty charred though.

Ya think it's BBB or Consumer Reports or Epinions ... I'm open to suggestions. It makes me scared for everyone -- there are so many out there & it's weird that this freaky thing has happened to me twice -- two different locations too .. once in a Brooklyn brownstone & here in the Hudson Valley. So I can't blame the place's wiring!

Some neighborkids were asking what happened & I said "A lamp exploded" and they were like "Lamps usually don't do that, do they?" And I was like "Nope - they don't usually do that. We'd all be in trouble if the USUALLY did that!"

Posted:  5/10/2007 11:28:26 PM
P: 5/10/2007 11:45:12 PM
decodelighted
decodelighted

Ideal Rock
Total Posts: 8,629
Last Post: 11/24/2009
Member Since: 7/27/2005
 
**UPDATE***

I just did a quick search on Ikea & didn't see either of the two lamps CURRENTLY being offered -- at least online.

But in case anyone is curious & checking their own lamps

THE FIRST ONE
was about 16 inches tall, silver tone base with a cylindrical 12 inch shade that was vertically wrapped raffia around a metal base -- no liner between the bulb & the raffia (what was I thinking - that just SOUNDS bad). In that case I think the BULB exploded & the lamp just caught on fire because it was so FLAMMABLE. I actually had to tamp that one out with wet towels.

THE LATEST ONE
is a kinda curvy white blobby looking cylindrical glass fixture with small holes punched through. kinda mod looking. it didn't break during the explosions or even when it hit the floor, even the bulb didn't break ... just the wiring wear the base met the fixture fried & burned through. It left black spots on the wall behind it -- where the flames or smoke or something blew through the holes & the whole inside is black & charred now.

Posted:  5/10/2007 11:45:12 PM
P: 5/11/2007 2:00:14 AM
sleeping beauty
sleeping beauty

Cut Rock
Total Posts: 305
Last Post: 7/21/2008
Member Since: 1/17/2006
 
Deco i can relate to how scared you mustve been. something similar happened to me today.. thanks god my bf was here. i had just gotten home after a long 16 hour shift and as i'm going to bed i see this flashing spark behing the bed. it was like lighting. i scream and said to my bf did you see that or am i going crazy???? He saw it. well after looking it was my LAMP from IKEA that burned or something. all i could see was that the plug was burnt out. SCARY!!!! i;m taking your advice and not buying lamps from IKEA again..... OK dont want to thread jack so... i'm glad you had quick thinking and everything was OK.

SB

Posted:  5/11/2007 2:00:14 AM
P: 5/11/2007 9:14:57 AM
lumpkin
lumpkin

Ideal Rock
Total Posts: 2,491
Last Post: 2/29/2008
Member Since: 5/24/2005
 
How scary!!!  I'm so glad you and your house are okay.

Thank you for the wake up call and the warning about the Ikea lamps.  All our smoke detectors are operational, but I know our fire extinguisher is about 20 years old.  We really need to get a new one.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Opinions are like belly buttons. Everyone has one, but some are more appealing than others.

Posted:  5/11/2007 9:14:57 AM

 Previous Page Next Page 
« Turks & Caicos Pix! «» Anyone seen Demelza? »
Next Topics
TMI? How do you two deal with spending? Postage increase!!! FYI, First class is now $ .41 Weekly Workout Thread 14th May till 21st May Seattle Sutton (weight loss plan) anyone try it? My turn for needing PS fairy dust! North Carolina peeps!??? How do you get rid of snails in your garden? Ponds anyone? weight loss slowing down Sprinkle Me Synthetic HRT vs Natural Bioidenticals ? Weekly Workout Thread 22nd May till 28th May Paging Miranda! Diamond Fan Calling those from Philly Area Calling SanDiegoLady Baby Nurseries New Homeowner! Ant bait and pets.. not so good combo North Carolina Whee! A little bundle of joy arrived today I sent my mom to the hospital today Loved ones in care facility, home or hospital? Try this... Pets and Sunscreen Weekly Workout Thread 28 May Through 3 June Weight off my chest... TV commercials on kids toys circa 1972 Children and fighting Went to Az. and visited my daughter last weekend :) Had to share a couple of pictures Opinions on a Havanese?

Jump to:



Contact Us  |  Back Home  |  Privacy Statement  |  Forum Agreement  |  Forum Policies

Ideal BB Version: 0.1.5.4.beta1 Message forum software powered by  the Ideal BB

IdealBB Badge


Pricescope - Knowledge - Diamond Prices - Tools - Resources - About

© 2000-2009 Pricescope. Terms of Use Privacy Policy Disclaimer
forum archives