Are TV Sets A Fire Hazard?

The change from tube to flat screen television sets was a bigger change than probably anyone in the industry realized at the time.

Yes, the new TVs have a nice wide, clear picture, but the big, bulkly tube TVs that dominated living rooms for decades tended to last forever and were relatively inexpensive. The flat screen models that have taken their place tend to be a lot more expensive and break down quickly.

But recently, among the complaints about TV sets losing their sound, losing their picture, displaying clicking noises and pink dots, we are beginning to see reports of TV sets catching on fire. Not enough to qualify as a trend, but probably enough to caution consumers to be aware of a potential hazard.

Burning issue

“My Polaroid TDX-03211c caught on fire last night and had I not been home I would have lost my house,” Mary, of Ellijay, Ga., told ConsumerAffairs.com this week. “I called the support number listed on Polaroid website and told them what had happened. All they can do is send a new motherboard at cost to the consumer and they have no instructions or information on this issue from Polaroid.”

Patricia, of Live Oak, Fla., said she purchased a 32 inch Polaroid TV in January 2009. Last month she reported that she was watching TV when she heard a hissing sound.

“The screen went black and a plume of dark smoke billowed up from back of the set,” Patricia said. “The sound was still working. I called my son from another room and he unplugged the cords for me. It smelled bad and I was afraid it might catch fire.”

Tqmmy, of Stringtown, Okla., said her Philips flat screen actually caught fire last week. She said she email the company to inform them about it and received only a polite generic response.

J., of Yorktown, Va., reports a similar experience with his Philips LCD 47" TV.

Fireworks

“It started having the screen black out problems a couple of months ago.,” he told ConsumerAffairs.com. “This week, we turned on the TV, and we heard many popping sounds, and we saw fire sparks shooting out of the bottom of the TV, and smoke was billowing out of the top. We immediately disconnected the TV from the power source and cable box.”

J. said the Philips customer service reps he contacted could offer no explanation why sparks would be shooting from the back of his TV.

So far, none of the reports we have seen have indicated the set was turned off at the time of the fire. They also have not indicated whether they were close to a heat source, like a fireplace. We've been told it's not a good idea to mount a flat screen over a fireplace, for example.

What should you do if your TV sets begins smoking? If possible, unplug the power cord as quickly as possible.

Besides reporting the incident to ConsumerAffairs.com, you should also report it to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, which has the responsibility of making sure products are safe.