Yikes!!!

[ohioreef]

Cell Phone Catches Fire, Burns Man Over Half His Body

Tuesday , January 16, 2007


VALLEJO, Calif. — A cell phone apparently ignited in a man's pocket and started a fire that burned his hotel room and caused severe burns over half his body, fire department officials said.

Luis Picaso, 59, of Vallejo was in stable condition Monday at UC Davis Medical Center with second and third-degree burns to his upper body, back, right arm and right leg, Vallejo Fire Department assistant chief Kurt Henke said.

Firefighters arrived at the residential hotel late Saturday night to find Picaso lying on the bathroom floor after the cell phone in Picaso's pants pocket set fire to his nylon and polyester clothes, department spokesman Bill Tweedy said.

"It was either a malfunction or some type of glitch in his phone," Tweedy said, adding that investigators found no other possible ignition source, such as matches or open flame, nearby.

The flames spread to a plastic chair, setting off a sprinkler that held the fire in check until firefighters arrived, he said.

Authorities declined to name the manufacturer and model of the phone.

The fire and water caused $75,000 damage to the room and a business on the ground floor, Tweedy said.

[micki]

I wonder why he didn't get the fire out before it burned so much of his body?

[verper]

Maybe he was asleep.  Those batteries can get very hot if shorted out.  Sounds like it could happen.  Mythbusters............ where are you?

[micki]

I suppose that's possible.  Scarey!

[REDPYRO]

mythbusters have tested this its bogus, and they can not start a fire at a gas station either.  the government is full of poop with their "safety regulations"

[verper]

mythbusters have tested this its bogus, and they can not start a fire at a gas station either.  the government is full of poop with their "safety regulations"

Yeah, I saw the one about the static electricity and cell phones.  Less than a year later, all of the warning stickers at gas stations were gone.  Talk about unfounded hype.

Did Mystbusters have one on a battery shorting out and catching fire or lack thereof?  I thought maybe the guy fell asleep, peed on himself in his sleep, shorted the phone battery with the pee, and lastly ignited himself. 

[slandis3]

there has been a few cases where older motorola battries have shorted out and cought fire. I think it was a few years agao when a girl had an old phone in her back pocket and it cought fire.

[ohioreef]

I know that a ton of laptop batteries have been recalled recently due to them overheating and causing fires. Most laptop batteries are Lithium ion as are cell phone batteries.

FWIW, the story in my original post came from Fox News.

[micki]

Stranger things have happened... 

[Hunter21]

Yeah, I saw the one about the static electricity and cell phones.  Less than a year later, all of the warning stickers at gas stations were gone.  Talk about unfounded hype.

Did Mystbusters have one on a battery shorting out and catching fire or lack thereof?  I thought maybe the guy fell asleep, peed on himself in his sleep, shorted the phone battery with the pee, and lastly ignited himself. 

LOL.... I can't stop laughing at this comment!!! 

[rmstevensiii]

An update:

Fire in Man's Pants Not Started by Phone

VALLEJO, Calif. — A fire that started in a man's pants pocket, critically injuring him and destroying his hotel room, was not ignited by a cell phone as authorities suspected, phone technicians said.

Nokia Corp. engineers found that the charred device still worked Wednesday and convinced fire department investigators that it had not spontaneously ignited in Luis Picaso's pocket.

"He could have been smoking a cigarette, the cigarette fell into his pocket, and it started on fire," Vallejo fire inspector Bill Tweedy said. "We don't know that. We weren't there."

The fire caused about $75,000 in damage to the residential hotel and a ground-floor business. Picaso, 59, was in critical condition Thursday with second- and third-degree burns to his upper body, right arm and right leg.

The fire apparently started in Picaso's pants pocket while he slept on a plastic lawn chair in his room, authorities said. Picaso is under heavy sedation and doesn't seem to remember what happened, Tweedy said.

___

[ohioreef]

Well, at least we can feel a little better about putting cell phones in our pockets!! LOL!!