Restricted airflow was culprit in smartphone fire (Video)
Posted by: Jon Ben-Mayor on 07/25/2014 03:24 PM
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There is a warning contained within the user manual of most smartphones; a warning that a teenage girl in TX didn't read and it almost caused her bedroom to go up in flames.
According to what Samsung told this particular family - it is in there. FOX4 interviewed the girl and her father, Thomas Tolfree (great name for a phone story) and he said, ”the whole phone melted, the plastic, the glass. You can't even really tell that it was a phone.”
Dallas News | myFOXdfw.com
The phone apparently slipped underneath her pillow as she was sleeping, the smell of burning plastic was enough to wake the 13 year old up. What the FOX4 report didn't specify is; was the phone charging at the time?
A spokesperson for Samsung says their products are safe, and pointed out that the battery inside the phone was a replacement unit and not an original Samsung part. The section relating to non-OEM parts was readily found in the manual.
Nevertheless, the company does agree there is a need for consumer education when it comes to rechargeable batteries. That’s exactly why they post a warning in their user guide, which specifically states covering one of their devices with bedding or other material could restrict airflow and cause a fire.
Tolfree and her dad, though, didn’t read that warning - I still haven't been able to find that specific warning - even when I matched line for line from the video with my guide - there is not any mention of restricted airflow. Regardless, it happened and it does make perfect sense, but it brings up another question: What about your pocket?
According to what Samsung told this particular family - it is in there. FOX4 interviewed the girl and her father, Thomas Tolfree (great name for a phone story) and he said, ”the whole phone melted, the plastic, the glass. You can't even really tell that it was a phone.”
The phone apparently slipped underneath her pillow as she was sleeping, the smell of burning plastic was enough to wake the 13 year old up. What the FOX4 report didn't specify is; was the phone charging at the time?
A spokesperson for Samsung says their products are safe, and pointed out that the battery inside the phone was a replacement unit and not an original Samsung part. The section relating to non-OEM parts was readily found in the manual.
Nevertheless, the company does agree there is a need for consumer education when it comes to rechargeable batteries. That’s exactly why they post a warning in their user guide, which specifically states covering one of their devices with bedding or other material could restrict airflow and cause a fire.
Tolfree and her dad, though, didn’t read that warning - I still haven't been able to find that specific warning - even when I matched line for line from the video with my guide - there is not any mention of restricted airflow. Regardless, it happened and it does make perfect sense, but it brings up another question: What about your pocket?
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