Below is a picture of a CFL light bulb from my bathroom.

I turned it on the other day and then smelled smoke after

a few minutes. Four-inch flames were spewing out of the

side of the ballast like a blow torch! I immediately turned

off the lights! I'm sure it would have caused a fire if I

was not right there! Imagine if the kids had left the lights

on as usual when they were not in the room!

I took the bulb to the Fire Department to report the incident.

The fireman wasn't at all surprised, and said that it was not

an uncommon occurrence. Apparently, sometimes when the bulb

burns out, there is a chance that the ballast can start a fire. He told

me that the Fire Marshall had issued reports about the dangers of

these bulbs.

Upon doing some Internet research, it seems that bulbs made by

“Globe” in China seem to have the lion’s share of problems. Lots

of fires have been blamed on misuse of CFL bulbs, like using them

in recessed lighting, pot lights, dimmers or in track lighting.

Mine was installed in a normal light socket.

I bought these at Wal-Mart. I will be removing all the Globe bulbs

from my house. CFL bulbs are great energy-savers, but make sure

you buy a name brand like Sylvania , Phillips or GE --and NOT the

ones from China . PASS THE WORD, PLEASE.

"I have a pix if you want to see it, happened to a friend of mine, beware of Chinese CFC's.

Bill H.