Halogen Lights Can Be Dangerous
There are many ways a fire can start aboard a boat, but one of the most over-looked causes is halogen lights. They can and do start fires that can burn a yacht to the waterline. Two years ago one of our friends got aboard his new, large motoryacht and smelled smoke. A quick run around the boat turned up nothing until a closet door that was ajar was opened. Inside, a halogen light was doing a nice job of burning through a cardboard box that had been placed on a shelf below it. Flames had not yet erupted, but they were only a couple of minutes away.
In another example of a halogen light-induced fire a door to one of the staterooms below on a large aluminum megayacht was left ajar -- with its top edge an inch away and squarely under a halogen light which was on. The door caught on fire, then the overhead, and then much of the boat was engulfed in flames.
We don't read much about these causes of fire on board because often the evidence goes up in smoke. Boating magazine publishers are often reticent about printing articles about boat disasters for fear (not unfounded) of losing advertising revenue. Newspapers rarely report the cause of boat fires because they are only determined weeks later after a fire marshal’s investigation.
These little lights are bright and powerful.
But yachts are not the only places halogen lights are used. They are also found in homes where they have started their share of often deadly fires. Last summer the Melbourne, Australia newspaper "The Sunday Age" ran a lengthy article about 57 halogen-related fires causing $17 million in damage in just 18 months in the area. Ten people died in the blazes.
Hampton's Pad is Torched
Articles were published all over the country in early 1997 when fire destroyed the Upper West Side apartment of Lionel Hampton, the jazz vibraphonist. The fire burned so intensely and spread so rapidly that in minutes Mr. Hampton lost most of his personal belongings. Its cause was apparently an overturned halogen torchiere lamp. According to Wikipedia, halogen torchieres have been banned in some places, such as dormitories, because of the large numbers of fires they have caused. Halogen bulbs operate at high temperatures and the tall height of the lamps bring them near flammable materials, such as curtains.
An article in the New York Times after the Hampton blaze said: "About 40 million halogen torchieres were in use, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, a Federal agency. The commission has received reports of about 100 fires resulting from the lamps, most of them in 1996. Ten people died in those fires. State Farm Insurance, the nation's largest insurer of homes, began to identify fires caused by the lamps last year."
On boats you often see them in brass fixtures.
The Consumer Products Safety Commission has released a safety alert related to halogen torchiere floor lamps 15 years ago and due to fire safety concerns, the UL Listing for some of these lamps was pulled.
More Heat and Light
The intense heat generated by halogen lights is far beyond what most consumers are used to with conventional light bulbs. According to the New York Times, a 300-watt halogen bulb can reach 970 degrees Fahrenheit, and 500-watt bulbs can reach 1,200 degrees. Considering that paper ignites at 340 degrees and cloth at 640 degrees, it is easy to see why the halogen lamps pose a hazard.
What Should a Boat Owner Do?
Unfortunately halogen lights are used in many boats today, including some of the most prestigious and highest quality. In fact, at least one boat builder proudly advertises its use of halogen lights. Like most everything, if properly used halogen lights can be safe, and obviously most do not cause fires on boats.
Halogen bulbs must be handled with care.
Place your hand 8 inches under a halogen light that is turned on, then gradually move your hand toward the light. You will quickly discover what the danger zone is. Depending on the wattage, this is usually two to four inches away. You must add to that a safety margin and then make sure that no door or flammable object can come within the danger zone. That is the easy part.
Next, inspect every fixture and make sure that it is not above a shelf (as in our example) where something might be placed by an unsuspecting guest and thereby be too close to the light. Halogen fixtures in overheads must be clear of all doors, curtains, or anything else that might find its way under the light. What is not so easy is to ordain what flammable object or material might fall, blow or otherwise inadvertently find its way into the halogen vortex.
Finally, hire a certified electrician to check each one of your halogen lights to make sure its enclosure is secure and thereby won't start a fire above the fixture. This is what was happening in Melbourne, Australia a couple of years ago -- the fixtures were not correct and fires were starting in attics behind or above the light itself. Have the electrician remove any fixtures that either you or he are concerned about.
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