Cellphone ignites fire, severely burns owner

We're a bit heavy-hearted to report the news, but it would appear a 59 year old man by the name of Luis Picaso was severely burned when a cellphone in his pocket caught fire and consumed his hotel room. Over half of Luis's body is said to be severely burned; damages to the building totaled over $75,000. Other details are still slim -- like what kind of phone and battery he was using -- but suffice it to say, be careful with your batteries both in the way you use and handle them, as well as the kind you buy. That extra $10 you spend for a first party batt might be worth the cash in the long run (unless it's a Sony, har har).

[ups767300 @ Jan 16th 2007 12:53AM]

**** cheap batteries!!!

[Mr. Picklesworth @ Jan 16th 2007 12:55AM]

If that naughty word is starting with an F... I don't think it would be a good idea :O

[Sean @ Jan 16th 2007 1:37AM]

Unless its a Sony? Come on guys, this is a serious story, try not to lead with "We're a bit heavy-hearted" and end with "har-har". Besides, what do phone batteries and laptop batteries have to do with one another?

[avs @ Jan 16th 2007 1:45AM]

they both blow up??

[tiuk @ Jan 16th 2007 1:45AM]

Like, other than the fact that they're both lithium ion?

[zverg @ Jan 16th 2007 9:07AM]

They're both Li-Ion.. we're at the limit for capacity of Li-Ion batteries, and leave it to Sony to show us what happens when you try to eek out just a little bit more power to one-up your compoetitors...

Just for an added safety measure I'm pulling my SIM from my Sony Ericsson K750i and slapping it back in my Nokia until it is clear that it was not a Sony battery to blame here.

[Peter Reynolds @ Jan 16th 2007 2:15AM]

The bed was already on fire when he got into it.

[TheBlunderbuss @ Jan 16th 2007 3:07AM]

What make and model was this cellphone?

[wii posted nz @ Jan 16th 2007 4:39AM]

iphone for the win¡

[Dustin @ Jan 16th 2007 5:04AM]

Oh my god, that's awful. I feel for anyone who survives a burn like that. Especially lithium, it burns VERY hot (~1200 F).

[Xavier Gill @ Jan 16th 2007 7:13AM]

He probably looks like Guernica now

[Ebzy @ Jan 16th 2007 8:34AM]

@Xavier

I remember having to do lines in school that went something like...

I will not laugh at other people's misfortunes.
I will not laugh at other people's misfortunes.
I will not laugh at other people's misfortunes.
I will not laugh at other people's misfortunes.
I will not laugh at other people's misfortunes.
I will not laugh at other people's misfortunes.
I will not laugh at other people's misfortunes.
I will not laugh at other people's misfortunes.
I will not laugh at other people's misfortunes.
I will not laugh at other people's misfortunes.
I will not laugh at other people's misfortunes.
I will not laugh at other people's misfortunes.
I will not laugh at other people's misfortunes.
I will not laugh at other people's misfortunes.
I will not laugh at other people's misfortunes.
I will not laugh at other people's misfortunes.
I will not laugh at other people's misfortunes.
I will not laugh at other people's misfortunes.
I will not laugh at other people's misfortunes.

[Matt B @ Jan 16th 2007 10:10AM]

I'm always a little cautious in believing these "out of the blue" cell battery fires. No one really knows how this guy treated his equipment. Maybe he always took a shower with it in the bathroom thus exposing it to heavy moisture. Maybe he would leave it in the car overnight thus exposing it to decent temp changes and morning moisture levels. Maybe he bought and used a cheap wal-mart charger.
More times than not, it's more carelessness and outside conditions causing cellular equipment to malfunction.

[Jason W @ Jan 16th 2007 1:37PM]

bad taste on the har har...shame on you.

[ksmith @ Jan 16th 2007 4:28PM]

I'm guessing that this has nothing to do with the laptop battery explosions. This is probably some freak accident. Cell phone batteries are typically single celled, where as laptop batteries have six or more cells. The explosion in laptop batteries is what happens when there's a significant charge difference between cells. The stronger cell starts to back drive the weaker one, causing "thermal issues". Since most cellphones are single celled, this is not a problem.

[Murc @ Jan 16th 2007 10:27PM]

ouch.

I hope this guy Sues the shit out of the cell phone maker.

[Lonnie McClure @ Jan 16th 2007 10:34PM]

There would be little reason to sue the cellphone manufacturer if a third party battery was at fault.

[Allen Flanigan @ Jan 18th 2007 1:14PM]

It has been determined that the celly did not cause this fire:
http://cbs13.com/local/local_story_018105351.html

Phew!!!

regards

Allen

[The Smaniac @ Jan 20th 2007 1:10PM]

A few weeks ago, I woke up one morning to find that my Sony Ericsson K800i had heated up so much the processor had shut down and it was uncomfortably hot to the touch. I turned it off and took it to Vodafone, where they took out the battery, examined it for "bulges" and replaced it. This makes me realize how scary that could have been. I feel sorry for that dude...

And suddenly I really want to replace my mobile.