Why we must be careful with our brooder lights.

[A.T. Hagan]

We should always take great care to see that the brooder lamp cannot fall into the bedding.

http://www.nwcn.com/news/washington/Mother-son-injured-in-Auburn-house-fire-89506872.html

Lamp used to warm young chickens blamed for Monroe house fire

Credit: Monroe Fired Dept.

by KING5.com
Posted on March 30, 2010 at 6:43 AM
Updated yesterday at 12:50 PM

MONROE, Wash. - A mother and her son were injured when their home caught fire Tuesday morning.

When firefighters from Monroe Fire District #3 arrived at the 2-story home in the 22000 block of 116th Street SE at about 5:00 a.m., they found a fully involved house fire. Units from four additional fire districts from the surrounding area also responded to the scene.

According to Monroe 's Public Information Officer, a 59-year-old woman suffered injuries to her hip and arm after jumping from a second-floor window. Her 31-year-old son suffered smoke inhalation. The mother was taken to the Providence Regional Medical Center Colby Campus in Everett. The son was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Both are said to be suffering non-life threatening injuries.

Fire officials say the two managed to escape thanks to an audio alert from their smoke detector.

Authorities say the cause of fire appears to be a heating lamp that was being used in the living room to warm young chickens that were in a box. The chickens and a family dog were lost in the fire. A second family dog was able to escape. The whereabouts of a family cat is unknown at this time.

The fire caused extensive damage to the house.

 

[TriciaHowe]

What a shame..... Glad the people made it out relatively ok. Sorry for the loss of their pets and house

 

[FluffyChic]

Oh my goodness, that just makes my heart ache for those people. Scary.

 

[MomtoSyd&Emma]

As most of you know, this is a MAJOR fear of mine, and the reason its taken me so long to get a brooder going, so HOW are we all supposed to make sure this CANT happen? I just dont understand??

I mean we had ours clamped and WIRED up, a metal top on the brooder, and if GOD forbid the lamp should fall it will fall on a concrete floor and nothing else!

My DH had to work last night and he came home on his lunch break to check on all of us!

We have a empty camper in the yard, and he is debating on moving the chicks out there and using an extension cord to keep the lamp going just to get them out of the house he is so worried!

 

[Chickenaddict]

Things like this make me cringe at the thought of loosing alll my birds or home for that matter! I have always been good about wiring the heat lamp to something that will not fall, I never rely on those stupid clamps.....

 

[blueskylen]

2 years ago my light fell of of its peg and burned down half of the coop - 6 chickens died and I was devastated. my light did not have a cage over the bulb and caught the bedding on fire. my light now is securely nailed to the ceiling and has a large cage over the bulb. I still worry about it, but have to have heat in there on cold winter nights.

 

[BriteChicken]

Thanks just thanks! I was already scared to leave the lamp on and now I'm going to be even more worried! I have to work 8 hours a day and now I'll be out of my mind the whole day!

Plus I crate my Dane so she'd have no way to get out either...

 

[ADozenGirlz]

OMG. Shudder. My thoughts go out to that family. How awful.

 

[MomtoSyd&Emma]

See I am terrified and this made is worse lol

We have the chicks downstairs they are TOTALLY alone down there, all the other animals are upstairs

 

[coopstudent]

Thats so devastating...and SCARY! My heart goes out to that family! My husband and I live in fear of that happening also. We have our chicks in a giant plastic tub with a secure rigid wire mess lid on top on it (the heavy duty kind used on terrariums). We have the cage off the bulb and have the lamp laying directly in the center of the top since the bedding is just under 2 feet below it and there is no fire risk to the metal mesh cover. Its keeping them right between 90-93 degrees. We have locked out the cats from the room downstairs and shut the door. After a week or two as we raise the bulb further away from them, we plan to securely wire it to something very sturdy..or even from the ceiling by a chain. I'm so scared something could happen though!! Nothing is foolproof. I just realized...yikes!! No smoke detector in that room!..and the door is shut so the one in the next room would be useless. Going shopping for a smoke detector today!