I usually go by a rule of "If it burns me by barely touching it, I better leave about 6inches to a foot between it and pretty much anything to avoid fire from heat build up. Electrical fire...well just find a nonconductive insulation that is also heat protected to stick between the spots connected.
Get more pictures up so we can get a better idea of what you're worried about specifically.
On the cooling note, YES. It can help you sooo much. I'm just currently running a 150W HPS with two Computer fans draped over the hood blowing air both ways and can tell you before the fans were there it was hotter than around the light. But more importantly is making sure the heat doesnt get trapped in the top of the grow. Install ventilation to vent that hot air out of the room entirely.
