CFL's Could Be Dangerous if Used Improperly

Last year, Rick Jenkins and his family raced from a Sunday brunch to find their split level Cumberland home engulfed in a raging inferno.

"When I got to my house after the fire, those flames were a lot higher and already through the roof," Jenkins said.

Jenkins was stunned when investigators told him what sparked those flames: a compact fluorescent bulb connected to a dimmer switch.

"It never hit me that something this small could burn your whole house down," Jenkins said.

The CFL's were supposed to help Jenkins save money, he says. He said he didn't think twice about putting them in all his light fixtures.

"It's not designed to be used with a dimmer switch," Jenkins said.

Captain Dale Ednock with the Prince George's County Fire and Rescue Service said, "The ballast itself is designed to operate at a specific voltage. If you fluctuate that it can cause the ballast to fail."

Essentially, using the CFL improperly shortens the life of the bulb. The packaging on most CFL bulbs has some sort of label that says "not dimmable."

On some of the bulb packaging, it's not very large.

"I would love to see the headline bigger, so people don't have to go through what I'm going through," Jenkins.

In just weeks, Jenkins and his family will move back into their home, and when all the last touches are complete he will need to pick out bulbs once more.

This time, he says the bulbs will be different.

"Yes, very tough lesson to learn," Jenkins said, "I read a lot of warning labels now."