Heat Lamp started fire! Warning!! Learn from my mistake!

[MIKE555444]

Thank you for the warnings for others

Sorry for your loss

 

[fancbrd4me02]

I am so sorry to hear about your loss. I am always terrified that one of my heat lamps will start a fire. It's hard to secure them and also they get so hot, something could ignite. I use a ladder to hang mine in larger pens....It's aluminum and I can keep it away from the sides of the pen that way. I don't think the chickens can knock it down. I hang the lamp from a wire stretched across either side, and then hang a second wire from the center of that to the loop on the lamp. I wish there was a better alternative to heat lamps.

 

[Uzuri]

Those clamps are crap, but most folks don't realize that. Frankly I wish the stupid things didn't come with them at all.

Mine's in use in the garage right now because we have a sick rabbit. Chewed my brother out the first night for clamping it to the shelving unit and plugging it in without securing it and all he's running is a 60W bulb. It's now clamped *and* tied.

And the rabbit finishes its therapy tomorrow and goes the heck back outside

 

[tothemoon]

If you are wanting eggs to hatch out some more chicks, I have all the types I can offer on my BYC page. All are still laying at least every other day and Im throwing away most of them because I dont want to hatch them all out right now. I would have to ask that you pay for shipping because we are B-R-O-K-E right now. I am so sorry for your loss.

 

[danielle82]

I just wanted to express my condolences to you during this ordeal. Im sure that would be very scary as well as tremendously sad. Thank you for posting the nformation as well. You have saved others from enduring the same

 

[Cetawin]

I am so so sorry for your losses but so thankful your house was not part of it. Mine is secured to the rafter and on a hook. It is too high for them to get to anyway but I still worried.

 

[RocketDad]

Those clamps are crap, but most folks don't realize that. Frankly I wish the stupid things didn't come with them at all.

Yeah, the clamps are okay if nobody is going to move anything anywhere near the stupid things. I've used them backstage and they have to be placed up out of head-bonk range, because if an actor can crash into something backstage eventually somebody will. It's a murphy's law thing.

I have a pair of clip-lights in my coop attached to 2x2 screwed to blocks, screwed to framing. Once I was happy with the position of everything I wrapped cable-ties around the clamps to strap them to the board. I also dressed up the wiring with zipties to minimize the amount of chaos the chickens can create with them.

So sorry for your loss. Thanks for the reminder to the rest of us!​

 

[emvickrey]

I am so sorry for your loss. That is just horrible. I want to thank you for warning all of us so it doesn't happen to our babies.

 

[Staceyfeindt]

Thank you all for the kind words and offers. Chicken people are good people! Pass the warning onto all you know. I had no clue they could start a fire, the thought never crossed my mind. From those of you who reported similar stories (I am sorry for your loss as well) I think many people are not clear on the danagers. They need to put clear warnings on those lamps! I am going to write to the companies and beg for a clear warning. I will rebuild in the spring. Thanks for the encouragement.

 

[B'villechicken]

Sorry for your loss. Having heard so many stories here for the past few months, I am trying to decide what to do for the winter. I decided to insulate it well and not use any extra heat. It has been below freezing for the past two weeks straight with several days in the single digits. With only the hens (8 Red Stars) and a cookie tin heater for the water, the temps have not been below 20 inside the coop. When you design your new coop, consider full thickness fiberglass insulation and read Patandchickens ventilation info. There is something to be thankful this Christmas-you still have your house. Stay strong, and as someone said earlier, rise from the ashes like the Phoenix. David