Need urgent advice!

[Saddlepatch]

Something very bad happened today while I was asleep on the couch. This morning, I was woken by my mom, who was freaking out and screaming at me, saying something about my room and smoke. So I ran up to my room, smelled a very strong and putrid odor, and found my dad up there, carrying Irwin's heat lamp as he was leaving the room. The heat lamp was completely black and smoke was billowing out of it. Now the entire house smells like that nasty smoke.
I just came really close to not only having Irwin burnt up in a fire, but our house as well. My parents won't let me use lights or other heat sources for Irwin anymore; which is pretty darn inconvenient, because he relies on those for his survival. What should I do? Are there any UVB and heat sources which don't pose a fire threat?
I'm so stupid... If my mom and dad hadn't been in the house, I would have still been asleep as my room and my baby burst into flames. God, I hate myself sometimes...

 

[Fogles]

What kind of bulb were you using?

 

[Saddlepatch]

What kind of bulb were you using?

I forgot the brand of the fixture. It was an 8.5" ceramic dome with a little knob on the cord that adjusts the heat. The knob, I think, was what caused the fire, because the dome part of the fixture and the 100 watt bulb that was in it weren't harmed too much. The knob had completely melted. The knob had, in fact, stopped working a few months ago, but the lamp still kept the temps at around 90-95 degrees, so I ignored it. So we think the knob is to blame for this little incident (I had no idea it could do that...).
I'm going to go back to the petstore that I bought the fixture at, find out the brand, and call the company. That knob is a hazard, and they need to know that and fix it. >.>

 

[Saddlepatch]

I think I remember the brand...
I'm about 60% sure that it was R-Zilla:
http://www.reptilesupply.com/product.php?products_id=1933

But then again, it may have been some obscure brand that I can't find online. I'll find out tomorrow when I go to the store.

It says that anything under 150 watts is okay; I had a 100 watt bulb in it, so this is just a terrible product. Are there better ones out there?

 

[Ethelia]

Jesus Im sorry to hear about that. How terrifying for you.
The lawyer in me is barking on about health and safety and damages etc but i'll let those urges die down /wink

Unfortunatly I have actually come across alot of stories and articles about "dimmer" switches on bulbs often ending in meltdowns or burn outs.
I was considering one for Dex a while ago.

I'll scout around and see if I can find any of the articles about dimmers and hopefully if you show that to your parents they will be happy for you to have another bulb without a dimmer.

Holly

 

[RedHandFilms]

It definitely sounds like the dimmer was the problem. Were you using a Halogen or normal incandescent bulb? I'm not sure if that changes anything, but I'm curious. It's obvious you don't want to get that brand again. Instead, go to the hardware store and get some clamp lights. If your parents are concerned about the higher wattage bulbs being used, then try using 2 or 3 regular 60 watt incandescent bulbs. They can't argue against a bulb that they already use elsewhere in the house. I would also go ahead and add a good quality surge protector and try to use a GFCI (Ground fault circuit interupter) outlet. Those are the one's with the little "reset" and "test" buttons on them. They have a built in circuit breaker to prevent shorts. If you don't have any, here is a how to for installing them.
http://www.ehow.com/how_2141928_replace-electrical-outlet-gfci.html