Flexwatt when regulated by a thermostat really doesn't get that hot. under average conditions the risk of fire is very very low. A fire can be started if the flexwatt short circuits and overheats. if your thermostat is working properly then it will kill the power and the only damage will be to the heat tape and that's all that will need to be replaced. The problem comes if the flexwatt shorts out and it either is not being regulated by a thermostat or the thermostat is not functioning correctly either. In this case there is nothing to kill the power so the flexwatt continues to overheat until you have a fire.
Your main line of defend]se against fire will be your primary thermostat. I recommend that this is a proportional thermostat like a herpstat.
An optional secondary thermostat is a great backup. I would suggest you get a on/off style for this. I prefer Rancos for this. The on/off thermostat will be set at the temperature that you want your flexwatt to be cut off at (so it needs to be set above normal operating temperatures). Your primary thermostat will actually be plugged into this backup thermostat, so if the flexwatt gets too hot the backup thermostat will kill power to your primary thermostat.
A third line of defense is in what materials you use to build your rack. Animal Plastics uses a type of PVC plastic called Controlled density PVC. it is encridably fire resistant (I have fist had experience and will attest that it will not catch on fire even with a 150 watt heat lamp sitting directly on it for a few hours... That was really bad, but no fire)
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