Heat Or Infrared Lamps
Twenty years of CPSC NEISS emergency-room records for this consumer product category, combined with demographic breakdowns, multi-year injury trends, and matching recall notices.
Personal Care & Safety Products · CPSC Code 1634
Stable over 5 years
The verdict
Heat Or Infrared Lamps carry a danger score of 27/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 138 ER-treated injuries a year that are roughly flat over the last five years.
- 27/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 138
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 4.4%
- end in hospital admission
- 5-14
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 1634 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 27/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for heat or infrared lamps - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume138 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)4.4%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trend-5%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Heat Or Infrared Lamps (CPSC product code 1634, in the Personal Care & Safety Products category) generate an estimated 138 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 2,487 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 27/100 for this category (low risk), combining raw injury volume, demographic reach, severity of outcome, and multi-year trend. The five-year trajectory shows that injury counts are roughly flat over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2016 (359 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2019 (5 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for heat or infrared lamps is burns, thermal to the finger, accounting for approximately 379 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by burns, thermal to the hand (350 cases). The 5-14 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 443 cases over the NEISS window, and males appear slightly more often than the opposite sex in that cohort. Severity outcomes from the NEISS disposition field show that 4.4% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 15 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how heat or infrared lamps fail in real households. Every figure on this page comes from CPSC-published data: NEISS projects national estimates from a probability sample of about 100 U.S. hospital emergency departments, while SaferProducts.gov collects voluntary reports from consumers, manufacturers, and clinicians. The danger score, trend indicators, and demographic breakdowns update automatically when CPSC releases a new yearly NEISS file, which is why this page is dated 2024-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.
Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2024)
Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only
Who Gets Injured?
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | 188 | 149 | |
| 5-14 | 248 | 195 | |
| 15-24 | 113 | 110 | |
| 25-34 | 86 | 127 | |
| 35-44 | 131 | 295 | |
| 45-54 | 144 | 223 | |
| 55-64 | 104 | 75 | |
| 65-74 | 68 | 64 | |
| 75+ | 87 | 82 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Finger | Burns, Thermal | |
| Hand | Burns, Thermal | |
| All Parts Body | Anoxia | |
| Lower Arm | Burns, Thermal | |
| All Parts Body | Other | |
| Face | Burns, Thermal | |
| Foot | Burns, Thermal | |
| Lower Trunk | Radiation | |
| Eyeball | Derma/conjunct | |
| Ear | Burns, Thermal | |
| All Parts Body | Poisoning | |
| Finger | Contusions, Abr. | |
| All Parts Body | Electric Shock | |
| Lower Trunk | Burns, Thermal | |
| Head | Radiation |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
42 YOM C/O BILATERAL EYE DISCOMFORT, BURNING SENSATION, WATERY DISCHARGE AND FEELS LIKE SOMETHING IS IN THE EYES SINCE EARLY THIS MORNING. RECENTLY BOUGHT A UV LAMP THAT HE STATES IS SUPPOSED TO PURIFIY THE AIR. HAD IT ON FACING HIM WHILE HE WAS WATCHING TV WENT TO SLEEP WOKE UP STARTED TO HAVE THE EYE SENSATION. DX PHOTOKERATITIS BOTH EYES
15MOF BURNED LEFT FINGERS ON A HEAT LAMP. DX: BURN OF FINGERS.
2 YOF PRESENTS WITH LOWER ARM BURN S/P A HEAT LAMP FELL ON PATIENT'S ARM. DX: LOWER ARM BURN
34YOF WAS CLEANING HER LIZARD'S TANK WHEN SHE ACCIDENTALLY TOUCHED HER ARM TO THE HEAT LAMP AND SUSTAINED A BURM. DX: BURN OF ARM
3YOF FATHER REPORTS PT ACCIDENTALLY GRABBED A TYPE OF HEATING LAMP THAT HAD FALLEN TO THE FLOOR. FATHER STATES PT ONLY HAD THE LAMP IN HER HAND FOR A FEW SECONDS. PT CRYING DUE TO PAIN FROM BURN. DX:SUPERFICIAL BURN OF PALM OF LT HAND
26 YOM HAD A HEAT LAMP BLOW OVER AND STRUCK HIS HEAD DX: TRAUMATIC HEAD INJURY
19MOM REACHED UP AND TOUCHED HEAT LAMP THAT IS ABOVE THEIR CHICKENS. DX: BURN FINGER OF LEFT HAND.
6YOF COMPLAIING OF BURN TO LEFT HAND. MOM NOTES SHE WAS PLAYING WITH HER TURTLE WHEN SHE TOUCHED THE HEAT LAMP WITH THE BACK OF HER HAND. DX: PARTIAL THICKNESS BURN OF PROXIMAL 4TH PHALANGE.
48 YOF. C/O LEFT THUMB PAIN SECONDARY TO BURN FROM A WARMING LAMP. DX: PARTIAL THICKNESS BURN OF LEFT THUMB.
49 YOF HAVING HAIR DYED AND UNDER HEAT LAMP WITH TOWEL ON HEAD SUFFERED BURNS TO SCALP DX: SCALP BURNS
14MOM PULLED DOWN A HEAT LAMP FROM THE FAMILY PET (BEARDED DRAGON) AND BURNED HIS LEFT LEG. DX: BURN OF LEG; LEFT WITHOUT BEING SEEN.
3YOM TOUCHED HEATING LAMP SETUP FOR BABY CHICKS WITH RIGHT HAND. DX BURN OF FINGERS@
Consumer Incident Reports
Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.
There have been 3 outbuilding structure fires related to the ELECTRYX Brooder Lamp in the last 3 weeks within the Ellicott Fire Protection District, El Paso County, Colorado. 2 on 9/9/2020 and the third today 9/28/2020.
A multipurpose 100W Daytime Heat Lamp (for reptiles) which I purchased from Petco, exploded suddenly on the top of the terranium which I keep my chinese water dragons enclosed in. This has happened once before. The brand ofthe bulb is ExoTerra. l bought this bulb two weeks ago and have kept it in the same place on top of my terrarium since I got it. Approximately 11 :30pm, the bulb suddenly hissed and then imploded (cracked outward), and pieces of the bulb went in different directions (many pieces landing in the water container that my lizards use for bathing). It made a very loud "pop" sound when it exploded and flickered light briefly. Smoke began traveling out of what was remaining of the bulb. I had to run to it and grab the broken bulb quickly because I was very alarmed that It could create a fire. I had to pull out the power plug to the lamp as well because the main filament of the lamp was still attached and discharging electrical output. This is very dangerous to my safety, as well as the safety of my pets, and any potential complications this could cause to my house and things. I don't know what would happen if I was not at home in the room when the bulb exploded. IT WOULD HAVE CONTINUED DISCHARGING ELECTRICAL CURRENT. My floor is carpeted and this is a potential ELECTRICAL FIRE HAZARD. This could have also electrocuted my pets and killed them.
The TUQI infrared heating bracket purchased on Amazon (ASIN: B0DP8ZZW9L) is advertised for 110V use but draws ~35.5A at its rated 3900W, far exceeding the safe limit for its NEMA 5-15 plug, creating a serious overheating and fire hazard. This blew the GFI that it was plugged into, burning the plastic of the receptacle. Had it not been plugged into a GFI, there could have been further incident.
Friable asbestos gasket in pet heat lamp. If shade is removed (as I need to do for space concerns) asbestos gasket is exposed, easily breaks with possible danger of inhalation of asbestos particles.
This morning when my son's "Fluker's" heat lamp for his pet lizard was turned on automatically by a timer, it burst into flames at the point where the cord attached to the lamp. The flames sent burning rubber into the pet's cage and elsewhere. The heat completely melted the cord, causing it to detach from the lamp body. Had we not been at home at the time to unplug the lamp and deal with the problem, it's possible a serious fire could have broken out. The lamp is a Fluker's Clamp-Lamp. The product number from the box is 27001. It was purchased on 8/25/2011 from Petco in Austin, TX.
We had a BAYCO Model #: FL-302NPDQ8 heat lamp securely attached to a sturdy frame in a tack room of a barn warming some baby chicks. AT 8:25 am on 5/5/2012 smoke was seen coming from the barn. The fire inside the tack room was concentrated in the area where the heat lamp was located. Emergency services was notified at 8:27 and by the time the first responders arrived (minutes later) the barn was fully involved. and tumbled to the ground minutes after that. The ONLY electrical component connected at the time was the BAYCO heat lamp. The heat lamp was approximately 43" off the floor and the chicks were in a box 18" tall. This set up had been used continuously for the previous 9 days with the box being changed out on day six to prevent drying out and reduce the combustability. Both the local fire investigator and insurance arson investigator both determined that the fire's point of origin was in the area of the heat lamp. The lamp has since been recovered from the ashes and is available for inspection. Bayco has refused to talk to anyone except an insurance company. All indicators point to a fault or short in the heat lamp.
(04/26/2018) The consumer has a safety concern about the position of the on-off switch of the product, which is on the front of the heat lamp. The consumer stated that the heat lamp was on the table. During the night, the cat jumped on the table. The table fell over causing the lamp to fall on the floor. The lamp was off but when it fell forward on the floor, the switch came on. The lamp melted the carpet in the area of the lamp down to the wood.
This morning at 3:30am a [REDACTED] lamp & brooders heat bulb were on, and on top of a reptile enclosure. They fell from the top of the enclosure (about 5ft), to the floor. Where a dog bed was located. The bulb never shut off resulting in a small fire starting on the dog's blanket, and subsequent flooring. The light, even in the midst of flames, never shut off, until it was unplugged.
Showing 8 of 15 reports.
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to heat or infrared lamps on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are heat or infrared lamps?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, heat or infrared lamps have a danger score of 27/100 (low risk). An estimated 138 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from heat or infrared lamps?
The most common injury is burns, thermal to the finger, accounting for approximately 379 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from heat or infrared lamps increasing or decreasing?
Stable over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for heat or infrared lamps injuries?
The 5-14 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 443 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by heat or infrared lamps?
Of all ER visits involving heat or infrared lamps, approximately 4.4% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (95.6%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with heat or infrared lamps?
You can file a consumer incident report at SaferProducts.gov, the official CPSC reporting portal. Reports help the CPSC identify emerging hazards and trigger investigations or recalls. You can also call the CPSC hotline at 1-800-638-2772.
Related Products in Personal Care & Safety Products
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 27/100 score as relative risk between products, not your personal odds of injury.
- See where this category ranks against every other tracked product. Full rankings
- Injuries cluster in the 5-14 age group, take extra care if that describes your household.
- Check for active recalls on this product before you assume it is safe. CPSC recalls
NEISS estimates ER-treated injuries from a national probability sample of hospitals; they do not capture injuries treated elsewhere or not treated at all.
Data: CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments. This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, scored, and verified.
