Latest news with #laptopfire
RNZ News
18-06-2025
- General
- RNZ News
Laptop left charging on bed causes house fire in Bendigo
By Rebecca Norman and Emile Pavlich , ABC News Kate Robinson left her laptop on charge in her bedroom while running errangs. An hour later, she returned to find her house and yoga studio engulfed in flames. Kate Robinson is warning people about the risks associated with leaving devices on charge. (ABC News: Emile Pavlich) Photo: ABC News: Emile Pavlich When Kate Robinson thinks back to the sight of thick black smoke billowing from her roof last month, she becomes deeply distressed. "There was nothing salvageable," she said. Ms Robinson's Bendigo home and yoga studio were destroyed by fire on May 30, when she popped out for about an hour to run errands. She returned to find her home on fire. "I went into my bedroom and there were flames on my bed almost up the ceiling," she said. Ms Robinson ran out of the burning building to find her dog, which had made its way outside, and ring triple-0. She wants to warn others about the risks associated with leaving devices on charge. The remnants of Ms Robinson's yoga studio after a laptop caught alight while charging on her bed. (Supplied: Kate Robinson) Photo: Supplied: Kate Robinson Fire Rescue Victoria said the fire at Ms Robinson's home on Bakewell Street in North Bendigo was caused by a laptop charging on a bed. A building insurer and a forensic fire expert showed Ms Robinson the burnt laptop and told her they believed the lithium battery inside the computer overheated on a blanket on her bed, causing it to catch alight. "Once they started asking me questions about why there was so much intensity around my bed, and what was on my bed … I remembered that the laptop had been charging there," she said. Ms Robinson said the laptop was an 18-month old AppleMac Pro and it had started to lose charge more often in the lead up to the fire. "It seemed to be going flat a lot, which can identify a faulty battery," Ms Robinson. Fire Rescue Victoria commander Craig Houlahan attended the blaze. "It was clear the fire had actually started from the bed," he said. "It was quite obvious with the development of the fire that it was the laptop, because of the battery." Apple Australia has been contacted for comment. The remains of the laptop after a fire ripped through Ms Robinson's property. (Supplied: FRV) Photo: Supplied: FRV Commander Houlahan said the fire had prompted new warnings about the risks involved with leaving devices on charge unattended. "The main thing is that if you're charging any electrical device, you have it on a hard surface and that allows it to cool," he said. Mr Houlahan said across Victoria, there was at least one call to fire authorities every day related to charging devices. "Over the years that's changed because a lot of our devices now are battery-operated," Mr Houlahan said. His advice was to think about four key things before charging a laptop, tablet or mobile phone. These included overheating of batteries through excessive charging, checking devices for damage, not charging in your bedroom and avoiding charging laptops overnight. He also said working smoke alarms were crucial as a house fire could spread throughout a home within 3 minutes. "Every bedroom should have a working smoke alarm in it," Mr Houlahan. Ms Robinson is now living in a rental property offered through her insurer. She said she was grateful to have been able to save her dog from the fire, and for her community's support, but the experience has stayed with her. "There's still a lot of grief and sadness about losing my space," she said. - ABC
Daily Mail
15-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Terrifying moment mother's HP laptop suddenly catches fire in her home after making strange hissing sound
A mother has captured the terrifying moment her HP laptop caught on fire in her own home after making a strange hissing sound. Claire Irvine, 46, was relaxing in the living room with her daughters when she heard the noise coming from the kitchen. Ms Irvine walked in to find thick smoke pouring out of her HP laptop, which had been left plugged in and open on the table after a day of use. The mother quickly unplugged the machine and rushed it outside, but parts of the machine had already melted the tablecloth and scorched the table beneath it. Although HP provided her with a replacement laptop, she says that since trying to claim expenses for damage to her furniture and urgent data recovery work, the computer brand has ignored her. Ms Irvine, a paramedic from Hertford, Hertfordshire, said: 'It was so scary. You don't expect something to just catch fire like that. 'I'm a paramedic so I'm used to dealing with emergencies, but seeing smoke coming off my kitchen table with the kids there was a real shock. 'I unplugged it and carried it straight outside. Luckily it cooled down on its own.' She later took the damaged laptop to a local technician, who determined that one of its three internal batteries had exploded. He was able to recover her data, including her university dissertation, but the process cost her nearly £300. Ms Irvine said: 'The local technician said there was no external cause. It just spontaneously burst. I hadn't done anything to the laptop to cause it. 'Luckily, he managed to recover my degree work, which was all on there.' HP issued the family with a replacement laptop a month later. But Ms Irvine claims the company has since gone silent after she submitted a £300 claim to cover data recovery and furniture repairs. She said: 'They were great to start with, really engaged and surprised by what happened. 'But as soon as they got the laptop back, it's like they shut down completely. Now they're just ignoring me and it's upsetting. 'I work for the NHS. I don't have money to waste. Being fobbed off like this isn't right.' It's not the first time that a HP laptop has caused damage. In 2017, an exploding laptop caused hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of damage to an X-ray lab at an NHS hospital. The Trust overseeing Ealing Hospital took HP to court over the incident, seeking almost £700,000 in compensation. The incident caused damage to equipment that was beyond repair, including a £410,000 endoscopic X-ray machine. And HP also recalled several models of laptop in 2018 and 2019 due to batteries' tendency to overheat.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Yahoo
Derby laptop fried in latest TikTok trend
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – A new social media trend led to a fried laptop at Derby High School. It's the latest TikTok trend wreaking havoc in schools. The trend teaches kids how to fiddle with their school laptops to make smoke come out. It's been triggering chemical reactions leading to hazardous lithium battery fires. Derby's fire department says the danger goes beyond flammability. Parents are keeping an eye on the latest TikTok trends 'My son and his friend came home, I think it was last week, and said that someone in their class got their conduct card marked,' said Becky Howe, a mom in Winfield. She says the student who got marked was fiddling with a laptop. She says the trend is not surprising. 'They always pass, they always cycle through, and there's always the next one,' Howe said. Curiosity is getting the best of students at Derby High School. 'There's been a social media trend that's been online for about a week or so that demonstrates how you can cause a thermal runaway in a lithium-ion battery inside of a laptop,' said Derby Fire Marshal Jonathan Marr. The trend is causing real concern. 'Once you cause this thermal runaway to occur, you can't stop it, and it'll continue to get worse until it burns itself out,' Marr said. The fire department has to isolate the device. Because it's a chemical reaction, it can reignite, which also means it's more of a hazard. 'The gases that it releases are highly toxic,' Marr said. The school district says the laptops cost almost $400 to replace. 'I think education is always important in that and communication is important… reminding students that there are real consequences to certain actions,' said Katie Carlson 'Parents need to be educated and our children need to be educated that they're actually dangerous,' Howe said. The police chief in Derby says there can be serious legal consequences, too. Even incidents that happen in schools are presented to the DA's office. If the DA decides to pursue the case, not leaving it up to the school to decide appropriate discipline, the chief says the case would go to court, and a student could be charged with arson. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
