Be Careful with the CF Light Bulbs!

We had something scary and potentially very dangerous happen last night. I was on the computer in the living room and reading a new book (at the same time) and Jim was in the bedroom watching TV. I had smelled something strange for about a half hour but thought maybe it was the book since it was brand new and sometimes ink smells. Suddenly Jim came out of the bedroom and says, "What smells hot?" That got my attention and we both started looking around trying to figure out where the smell was coming from. We have a lamp in the dining room that we leave on every evening since you have to pass through that room to get to the others. Last year I put florescent bulbs in all the lamps to save energy. I noticed the lamp was off and I asked Jim if he had turned it off and he said no. He looked at the bulb and where the filaments go into the base, it was glowing RED HOT! I quickly unplugged the lamp but this was very scary. It's a wooden lamp base and it was sitting on a wooden table close to the wall. The potential for a fire was very definitely there. And this was a GE bulb, not some discount brand. I'm sure glad we never leave home and leave a lamp on.