Summary:

An estimated 40-million halogen floor lamps have been sold in North America over the past 15 years. Consumers like their stylish look, and their $20 price tag. However, the halogen bulbs used in the lamps can reach temperatures of 500 degrees centigrade, and this has led to many fires. There's been a voluntary recall in the United States, but none in Canada.

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They're stylish, relatively cheap, and they shed a nice indirect light. And that's why they're popular. Estimates are that there are more than 40 million halogen torchiere lamps in homes, hotels, college dorms and offices throughout North America.

But halogen lamps get extremely hot. The hazard is such that the Consumer Product Safety Commission in the United States recalled these lamps in August, 1997, for what they call an "in home" consumer repair. The Commission says that, without a special wire guard, halogen torchieres are just too dangerous.

An American expert in the field of safe, energy efficient lighting, and a leading critic of halogen torchiere lamps states the recall is too little, and for some tragically too late.

To demonstrate his point that the lamps are unsafe, he cracked an egg in a frying pan and placed it on top of a halogen lamp. It was cooked in four minutes. If a lamp is hot enough to fry an egg, it's hot enough to ignite most household materials. (Please note: Do not try this at home)

Other than the heat, this expert is also worried that the lamps are too tipsy and can be easily knocked over by a child or a pet and the halogen bulbs can shatter, scattering hot glass fragments across a room.

Halogen lamps sitting next to a curtain have ignited the curtain in a little over five minutes. One such fire killed a man in Tempe, Arizona in 1995. The local Fire Chief reported this fatality and similar fires to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

When the Commission investigated further they found a total of 189 fires and 11 deaths and that's probably just the tip of the iceberg. Pushed by the statistics, American authorities toughened up the standard for halogen lamps. New lamps made for the US market since February 1997, come with a shield for the bulb, or a heat sensitive cut-off switch. And manufacturers now recommend using a 300-watt bulb instead of the hotter 500 watts.

In Canada, the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) publishes the standards for halogen torchiere lamps. When interviewed regarding the safety of halogen lamps they indicated that, "rather than coming out strongly for a retrofit, what we've done is inform Canadians that these lamps do burn hotter" In addition to spreading the word, the CSA pointed out that they did set a tougher standard for NEW halogen lamps in February 1997, along with the Americans.

They only have eleven reports involving CSA approved halogen lamps since 1995. But their stats don't include and incident that was reported in the Toronto Star in November 1996 - lamp blown over by the wind, set a couch on fire. Nor the three fires set by halogen lamps that a fire marshal in North Bay wrote to the CSA about. That letter was news to the CSA spokesperson, although she maintained that the CSA takes any incident involving CSA certified product very seriously.

For a fireman who was interviewed, the solution was simple. Get rid of your halogen lamps.