Quote:
Originally Posted by dmplaura
I wouldn't doubt this. You have to be very careful with electric blankets/pads.
I'm sure they've come a bit in technology, however I had a cousin that left their electric blanket on while sleeping, and it short circuited and caught fire. 
Thankfully he woke up (smoke detectors save lives) and got it out of the house in time (the bed was burning as well, how he didn't end up with burns on his body is beyond me). Beyond scary. We used to use them ourselves, until that incident. Then my mother got paranoid about them.
As I say though, from 25 years ago to now, I'm sure they make very safe models, and like mentioned, with a shut off. |
Being the wife of a firefighter,I can tell you...this still happens - and more often than you'd think. Almost as often as people who don't defrost the turkey before deep frying it.
They do have safety features now that usually prevent the fire safety issues, but you still have a burn risk for folks with decreased sensation. The blanket bunches up ,creates a hot spot and the person rolls onto it or what ever. They can't feel the increased heat and end up with a nasty burn.
I'd be more worried about that than a cancer risk.