Dawn Ostrem
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Aug 18/00) - The Yellowknife fire department has been waiting about a year for the first halogen lamp fire.

It finally happened last Saturday afternoon.

"It involved a towel placed on the lamp to hang it up and dry it out or something," explained deputy fire chief Mike Lowing.

"Of course the towel ignited and started a fire. The family wasn't home and so the sprinkler system activated and put it out."

The fire happened in an apartment complex and luckily there wasn't a lot of fire damage. Most of the damage was isolated to the corner of the apartment and was due to water damage, estimated to be about $15,000. Damage to the contents of the apartment are also thought to be about $15,000.

But Lowing said even though this was a small incident, the number of halogen floor lamps in the North is increasing and people should be aware of how hot they get.

"It's deceiving unless you put your hand on top of it," he said.

And the popularity of the lamps, which sell locally for $17.99, is growing in the North.

"Up here, because of the dark, they are very popular. Since it's not direct light, it's a very soothing light and they are economical," Lowing said.

"They've been associated with a number of fires in the United States and southern Canada ... so it's been a waiting game for us. We've been watching at the fire department for about a year."

Lowing added the worst places to put the lamps are near windows where curtains or even blinds come in contact with them.

Near children's play areas are also dangerous since toys thrown on top of the lamps have also been known to ignite quickly.