I have the worst luck with fluorescent lighting. I’ve been electrocuted while changing a T12 (don’t laugh!), had lamps fall and break in stores right before I’ve walked in and now this weekend an old magnetic ballast in my mother’s business went up in smoke and flames, literally.

We don’t know exactly what happened, but I suspect it overheated — it’s likely too old to have a thermal protector that would have cut the power if it got too hot. Certainly, the sparks and billowing smoke would suggest that was the case.

The building’s owner was informed of the situation, of course, but only the ballast, as opposed to the entire ancient fixture, will be replaced, including the starters.

It’s safe to assume that the building’s owners plan to own it for a long time, and it’s pretty safe to assume they don’t have any plans to update the 30+ year old fixtures. Even if there is no building-wide lighting upgrade planned, wouldn’t now be a good time to at least update one area?

Until that happens, the building occupants get to live with the humming and flickering. Luckily, we happened to be in the building when the ballast blew and we could cut the power quickly, but what would have happened if we weren’t? Overheated ballasts don’t often cause fires, but they can. Take a lesson from these owners on what not to do: Hedging your bets that ancient fixtures won’t be a problem.