Listen, buying anything, bringing it home, and plugging it up can be potentially hazardous. My Grandma bought a coffee pot locally that went horribly wrong and burned the house down, but she still drank coffee, right up until she died. Shit happens. Doesn't matter if you buy it from Walmart or Amazon drops it off. If you monitor it the first time (or first couple of times) to make sure it doesn't burst into flames, you should be good. However, if he's THAT concerned, he can rediscovered the guts. Fact is, he just doesn't like the lamp. Either accidentally knock the damn thing over, bite the bullet and tell her he hates it, or suck it up, but fear mongering over the unlikely possibility of this lamp starting the next Chicago fire is absurd. I obviously don't recommend plugging it up, throwing a gallon of gasoline over it and walking out, but ffs, it's just a lamp.