Every year, dozens of pets and farm animals are killed after heat lamps that are meant to keep them warm during cold periods catch fire. Besides the avoidable deaths of the animals, these fires can often burn down an entire home or barn, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars (or more) in damage.
In May 2023, a fire that caused nearly $225,000 worth of damage to a two-story farmhouse in Matteson Township, Michigan, was attributed to a heating lamp that caught fire.
In April 2023, a duck coop in a Santa Rosa, Calif. backyard caught fire after a heat lamp sparked combustible materials. The fire spread to a nearby home, causing $270,000 in damage. That same month in Santa Rosa, a heat lamp ignited straw in a garage, killing a number of chicks and a lamb.
In February 2021, a dog being warmed outdoors by a heat lamp in Houma, LA died in a fire that broke out when the lamp overheated. That same month, a fire caused by an overheated heat lamp in a barn in neighboring Bossier Parish killed seven horses. Use Heat Lamps for Your Pets with Caution