Frank,
I think if you go back and look at the cause of those fires.
Almost all were from long cooks, with large amounts of meat. Then followed by high temps on another food item. As with any cooker, if a large amount of grease is allowed to buiild up inside it. There may be a possibility of a fire. Cleaning the unit is always important. I replace the foil on the heat shield every four cooks. Or sooner if I'm doing larger loads.
I had a stick burner, and I did the same thing. I did a large cook and then shut the cooker down. The next time I came back, and fire it up. I had a grease fire. I should have allowed the unit to stay hot and clean itself out before I had shut it down.
I now have three FEC cookers, and I have not had any of the problems you have listed as worries. I think if you look at so of the top teams this year in the KCBS points, you will see the quality the units will produce.
Good Luck
RandyE