POTENTIAL HAZARD - LAMP

1/31/07

(click on this link to view the New York State Bureau of Fire Prevention's "Campus Fire Safety Bulletin")

The Tulane University Office of Environmental Health and Safety (OEHS) is alerting all university personnel of a possible fire safety issue. We have received information from other universities that have had problems with certain types of lamps they found in their housing units on campus. Even though the use of the lamp has been associated with on-campus, student housing, we feel that this information may be appropriate for students living off-campus as well as other locations. Whereas there has been no determination by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, we thought that we should still issue this alert.

The New York State Department of State, Office of Fire Prevention and Control issued the attached bulletin relative to the use of a lamp(s) with colored plastic shades. Please review the attachment which was not distributed by Tulane University. These occurrences included "Close Calls" when the shades melted, in one case when the lamp was on for only 15 minutes. The incidents apparently occurred inside a residence hall at a major university in the northeast. The attachment is a Campus Fire Safety Bulletin highlighting a potential fire hazard recently discovered. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has been contacted, however, no immediate response has been initiated by them at this time.

We do not have information as to the manufacturer or distributor of the product. From the pictures in the bulletin, it appears that the lamp(s) are mounted on a pedestal or they may be wall-mounted. Also, we do not know if the cause of the "Close Calls" was due to using an improper light bulb - one which may be too large for the lamp or too high a wattage or for other reasons.

We suggest that Housing and Residence Life (HRL), Deming, and other staff members to include R.A.s check to see if any of these are in use and if there are any obvious signs of overheating. If some of these types of lamps are found, please call OEHS. We will discuss options with you at that time and may elect to inspect the lamps. Depending on what is noted and any future bulletins on these types of products, we may contact the manufacturers and follow their recommendations or those of official safety agencies. Therefore, please inform the Office of Environmental Health and Safety (OEHS) if you find such lamps. For the Uptown, Elmwood, and Hebert Center Campuses, call 865-5307. For all other campuses, call 988-3996.

Please distribute as you deem necessary.