snoops is wrong, Haven't seen a fire yet from the bulbs but it is possible and likley. Where it becomes a problem is when the bulb is used side ways or up side down and the bulb is not rated for that. This is the older cfl and non cermic type. As an electrician, I see what I see and I know what I know. Buy LEDs. a little expensive but ends your problem.

I have need seen the word "FIRE" or "FLAME" I would be hard pressed to believe that these bulbs would create an Incendiary condition. I have seen the standard edision base bulbs fails and cause flame and fire condition.

I saw a spot light fail, it cracked the flame continued to flame causing a fire. I also saw another one normal light bulb do the same. These are on surveillance tapes. I ahve yet to hear of a CFL typr incident. Can anyone enlighten if you know of one? Thanks

I have need seen the word "FIRE" or "FLAME" I would be hard pressed to believe that these bulbs would create an Incendiary condition. I have seen the standard edision base bulbs fails and cause flame and fire condition.

I saw a spot light fail, it cracked the flame continued to flame causing a fire. I also saw another one normal light bulb do the same. These are on surveillance tapes. I ahve yet to hear of a CFL typr incident. Can anyone enlighten if you know of one? Thanks

I have photos of a compact lamp with brown discoloration where the base and lamp meet. 14 watt lamp, UL listed. Was found in a closet recessed IC fixture during a remodeling job. MFGR is N:vision. Listed for temperature range to 140 F. Could it be they should not be used in closet lights with IC housings? Normal wear and tear as they say?

Cannot down load photo as attachments to this note.

I had an event a couple of years ago with the CFL's. I was snoozing peacefully in the recliner one afternoon to be awakened by a BANG! While looking at the window for the bullet hole, the smoke detector goes off. As if enough wasn't happening already! The CFL curly have blown itself off the lamp and glass was everywhere. This was a base down lamp.

Recently, I had another CLF burn out. The screw on part separated from the base. I had noticed that it was looking odd for a day or two and when I investigated, I found it that way. Don't know what would have happened if I hadn't noticed it.

I know that the CFL's have been getting better, but that first event was more than enough to make me worry about them. What would have happened if I were away and used a lamp on a timer and it blew up like that? I think their claim that it is not a fire hazard is because they speculate that most installations are not close to material that could burn. That could be a dangerous assumption, since most table lamps have a shade and many are close to curtains.

snopes is not the all knowing everyone thinks they are. My father use to say never believe anything you hear, half of what you read and all of what you see. Fires are caused by many things or acts. this lamp is electrical and could cause a fire as with all electrical appliances.

They may or maynot be a fire hazard but they sure are junk. I have used over 100 of these bulbs and many do'nt make it one year. Two of them didn't make it 8 HOURS!! The worst brand I found was from FIET. I have never see flames but they sound like they are arcing. They do STINK!!! More ways than one!!!

some cfl's are base down only, so they can not be installed in recessed lights, smoking and fire might be a problem

Snoops got their info from the manufacturer. Of course any electrical appliance can suffer sudden failure if a part of the circuit fails-as in this case. True, these bulbs don't normally burn out but they can short internally. They also suffer from low voltage and frequent on-off cycles. I have found little, if any, life expectancy of these bulbs though they produce more lumens/watt than incadescent bulbs.

What about the mercury emitted when the glass cracks? Most of the bad ones are being tossed in the trash and will wind up in our descendants drinking water. There are many types of LEDs. Those that are not made from highly toxic materials like mercury are the way to go. The CFLs I bought were supposed to last 7 years. Horse apples! Home Depot wouldn’t refund nor would they take them back for proper recycling.

I hate to disagree with such an " authority " as Snopes, but as an electrician I have seen this happen to a cfl before. I do not think it is a common occurance, nevertheless it can and has happened. something to keep in mind is the fact that any electrical device has the potential to cause harm if conditions are present that allow dangerous situations to occur.

I haven't seen flames, but I did have a spiral 24W CFL installed in a basement fixture that failed (quite prematurely) by smoking and smelling, but also leaked enough dark brown/rust brown colored liquid that it dripped on the concrete floor below. I was careful to touch it in the event that it was corrossive. I wasn't much concerned with the mercury given that we played with the stuff in elementary school.

The A19 LED lamp efficacy has finally outmoded the CFL in lumen output and maintenance not to mention energy savings. The dimmable SSL's outlast CFL's with a 4:1 life and are worth considering for new installations. The 60,000 hour lamps in residential use will most likely outlast ownership turnaround for 27 years without replacement. The question about cost is the only tipping point for a homeowner's application. The time it took the CFL to replace the Edison will be much less for the LED takeover.

Not necessarily true! I've had several CFL's fail in a similar manner; they do not all "fail like an ordinary incandescent lamp, by growing dimmer". The smell comes from the potting compound (as in a ballast). I would be cautious where I would locate CFL's that are on for extended periods and if there are flammable materials nearby (not in an enclosed fixture).

You state this is false, but the CPSC thinks otherwise: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml11/11001.html

I have the bulbs around the house in various lamps and closets. Recently I went upstairs to the master bedroom and heard this "frying, crackling" sound from the closet. The bulb was operating properly but making this scary noise.

I don't like strange "short circuit" noises coming from electrical devices. I took out the bulb and replaced it with a conventional incandescent bulb. All now OK.

I don't care what you say, I still have reservations about these bulbs.

Interestingly UL lists these bulbs and recognized this type of failure mode as acceptable. So THEY say it is not a fire hazard. There is no verified evidence that a CFL ever caused fire due to their failure mode.

CFL's and other fluorescent lights along with HPS, MH and Mercury bulb contain mercury which is a liquid metal and needs to be disposed properly. (Most of your BigBox stores will accept them for recycling.)

Be mindful when installing CFL's and don't install them outdoors or in an enclosed fixture unless the carton specifically says so.

It is true that the fluorescent portion of the lamp will dim and eventually fail like any other fluorescent lamp. The problem is failure of the electronics. I have had the electronics fail in a matter to cause overheating, smoke, and carbonizing of the plastic enclosure. Even if 99.999% of the electronics do not fail, it will still mean that 1000's could fail and overheat. Not even UL testing can prevent that.

Snopes or no snopes, the exact same thing happened to me. The "curly cue" fluorescent lamp burned out in dramatic fashion and could have caused a fire if something combustible had been close to it. I don't remember the brand name. Beware of these lamps.

I have investigated a number of fires caused by CFL "end-of-life" failures and seen others that looked like the one shown in this article. Have not seen any patterns as far as manufacturer.

I agree with the Hazards that CFLs present. I have seen many of these things get so hot that they fuse to the socket; so to replace the lamp you have to replace the lamp socket also. These lamps also do not last anywhere near their life expectancy; I have witnessed many of change outs to support both these accusations.

I would not recommend these lamps to anyone; they have a higher upfront cost, don't last as long as expected, and get very very hot and lastly may require an electrician to change out the bulb if it melts to the socket.

I have had at least one CFL come to its death by flickering when turned on - almost like a strobe light. It was on a lamp with a timer, and when I finally discovered it, it had been going on for hours.

I have seen several similar failures in screw-in CFL's. Every failure I've been able to determine the failure was due to how the lamp was screwed into the socket. Typically the individual screwed the lamp in by holding onto the glass and put excessive force on the glass. This causes 1 of 2 things to happen. One is stress fractures in the glass near the base that eventually fail. The other has been damage to the electrical connect between the lamp and electronic ballast, which eventually fails.

Having people screw that lamp in by holding on to only the ballast or base and not the glass has eliminated all such failures.

I don't leave my electric clothes dryer running when I leave the home to run an errand. And I don't leave CFLs running unattended either.

I have experienced a similar situation with a CF (compact fluorescent) bulb as the news letter explained.

There was a good amount of smoke, a fairly strong odor, and some darkening of the base of the bulb around where the tube exists the base. But there were no flames. Althought as I watched the smoke, I expected to see flames.

Sorry – I’m not convinced. I was an early implementer of CFL’s and have had some disconcerting experiences. While I’ve never had flames, I’ve had at least two CFL’s that had a lot of melting and the base (transformer housing?) was bubbled and had black areas. They had to be very hot for this type of deterioration. I’m hoping the technology improves, but in the mean time I keep a very close eye on the CFL’s that I’ve installed and try to check the base every time they are used.

were you also aware that these bulbs contain a hazardous gas. They are supposed to be treated as hazardous waste but not for residential.

I've never seen flames but I have had some smoke/smell enough to cause everyone in the house to run around looking for the fire. I wonder how often the fire department is called for these bulbs. Also counter to what they say about these burning out, I had one lamp explode the glass when I flip on the light switch. It was a basement light in a porcelain base. So these can explode.

This is common with CFL's. I had an incident in my home also where a ceiling fan lighting fixture had CFL's and one faulted creating a typical electrical burning smell. No other hazard was present. Since the base appears to be ceramic, there does not appear to be a risk of fire. What do you think?

Great info! Snopes.com has for years been a source for all sorts of rumors that have been floating around cyberspace in e-mails. I check it every time I get something suspicious.