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fire posts

iPod suspected of setting Saab ablaze

by Donald Melanson, posted Jul 9th 2009 at 1:26PM

We've all seen the potential havoc that an iPod can wreak -- either through misuse or some general explosiveness -- and it looks like we now might have yet another cautionary tale out of Sweden, where a Saab 9-3 recently met an unfortunate end. While the exact, official cause of the blaze hasn't quite been pegged down, investigators seem to strongly suspect that an iPod left in the car is to blame. That's apparently because the car itself showed no signs of negligence or other technical faults (or evidence that the fire was intentionally set), and because the fire started on the seats, where the iPod was seemingly left. What's not clear, however, is if the iPod was simply tossed there and caught fire all by itself, or if was charging when things went horribly wrong -- although we're personally willing to simply buy Google Translate's answer that "the music has become so hot that it melted the inside."

[Thanks, Martin L.]

Apple recalls faulty first generation iPod nano players in Korea

by Thomas Ricker, posted Jul 9th 2009 at 2:05AM

While Apple may have moved on to selling the 4th generation iPod nano, consumer protection agencies are still focused on gen-1. For good reason too, apparently, as there's mounting evidence that those early white and black plastic players have a tendency to overheat, swell, and possibly burst into a nasty chemical fire. Responding to four formal consumer complaints made between December and June, the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards sent a request to Apple on June 25th recommending that Apple "aggressively" collects first generation iPod nano with Lithium Ion batteries made by the Chinese company ATL. Initially, Apple agreed to replace faulty units as they did in Japan upon request by the consumer. However, KATS is now reporting that Apple will recall the players under its own initiative making this the first formal iPod nano recall we can, uh, recall.

HP recalls another 15,000 laptop batteries, this time in China

by Donald Melanson, posted May 26th 2009 at 4:32PM

HP just recalled a hefty 70,000 laptop batteries earlier this month, but it looks like it still has a few more fires to put out, and it's now recalled another 15,000 batteries sold in China. No reports of any actual "flames / fire" this time around but, as with countless other recalls, the batteries are apparently prone to overheating, and can indeed pose a pesky fire hazard. Word of specific models affected is also a bit hard to come by at the moment, but the batteries were apparently used in laptops manufactured between late 2007 and early 2008, and include models sold under both the HP Pavilion and Compaq Presario brands. If that sounds like your laptop, you can get in touch with HP China for a free replacement battery.

HTC Touch Pro battery goes rogue, lights up an otherwise fine pair of pants

by Darren Murph, posted May 21st 2009 at 10:04AM

Just a note to everyone who carries around a spare smartphone Li-ion in their rear pocket: buy thicker underwear. The scene you see above was all caused by an obviously volatile HTC Touch Pro battery, one that the pants-wearer claims is an authentic HTC cell and not a cheap-o alternative from eBay. As the story goes, a foul odor led him to a laundry pile, where he uncovered eight moist socks, a torched battery and a ruined pair of pants. Look, we're glad this guy's okay and all, but seriously, can you imagine what this testy little thing would've done when tossed into the dryer? It's a blessing in disguise, kiddo.

[Via phoneArena]

Unibody MacBook Pro catch a fire, owner want no more trouble

by Joseph L. Flatley, posted May 20th 2009 at 11:41AM

As if you needed further proof that Apple is the favorite company of firebugs everywhere, unibody MacBook Pro owner Ken Brinkman has snapped some pics of his spontaneously combusting MagSafe cable. Apparently, he was fast asleep at 1:30 AM this morning when the smell of burning plastic caught his attention. Luckily, the young man is safe as of this post -- but the condition of his data has yet to be determined. Once again, we implore you: does your MagSafe cable look like this? If so, get it replaced. And while you're at it, you may want to make sure you don't have any first gen iPod nanos laying around. We hear those things can be dangerous! Trust us, you'll be far better off listening to Natty Dread on your Zune. One more pic after the break.

Continue reading Unibody MacBook Pro catch a fire, owner want no more trouble

70,000 HP laptop batteries recalled due to fire hazard

by Darren Murph, posted May 14th 2009 at 3:13PM

It's been quite awhile since we've seen a major recall surrounding volatile laptop batteries, but it looks as if HP is the company bringing the topic back to the forefront. Announced today, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada, in cooperation with Hewlett-Packard, has issued a voluntary recall of about 70,000 Li-ion batteries. Reportedly, these cells can "overheat, posing a fire and burn hazard to consumers," and so far, the firm and CPSC have received two separate reports of batteries that have overheated and ruptured, resulting in -- wait for it -- "flames / fire that caused minor property damage." For a look at what units are affected, head on past the break -- oh, and if you're reading this on an HP lappie right now, go ahead and grab the fire extinguisher just in case.

Continue reading 70,000 HP laptop batteries recalled due to fire hazard

Rovio finds new purpose in life with fire extinguisher mod

by Donald Melanson, posted Apr 30th 2009 at 6:49AM

The Rovio may not have inspired quite the same level of modding as something like the Robosapien, but it's far from completely lacking in the department, and RoboCommunity member Colt45 looks to have delivered one of the more impressive hacks to date with this new and improved fire extinguisher bot. As impressive as that top-mounted CF2ClBr fire extinguisher and remote-controlled nozzle is, however, the real standout piece may actually be the software, which apparently uses a machine vision app that can recognize fire and automatically extinguish it when necessary (assuming it remains around candle size). Unfortunately, there's no how-to for building your own just yet, nor is there any word of a planned face off with a Flame-o-Sapien, though you can be sure we'll let you know as soon as that happens.

[Via SlashGear]

Some of Acer's Predator PCs recalled: they'll set your games on fire, but also your desk

by Paul Miller, posted Mar 19th 2009 at 10:56AM

Those aesthetics aren't the only "dangerous" aspect to Acer's Predator gaming desktops. Apparently the insulation on some of the computer's internal wiring can become stripped, and has proceeded to short-circuit and melt internal components and the external casing in two separate reported incidents. Acer is recalling the ASG7200 and ASG7700 machines sold between May and December of last year, and customers can contact Acer for a free repair. Number of boxes affected? About 215. Not exactly raining fire in the streets, but we suppose those 213 remaining folks would like to know their Very Important Session of The Witcher is about to be interrupted.

Caption Contest: Fire-breathing robot scuttles into choir practice

by Darren Murph, posted Mar 19th 2009 at 7:26AM

We're not so sure who thought it'd be a bright idea to invite Torayan, a 7.2 meter tall, fire-breathing robot to what appears to be an otherwise calm and collected choir practice, but that sucker is going to burn.

[Thanks, Chris]

Nilay: "Look, he wants you off the ****ing set."
Ross: "Turns out he's a little sensitive about being compared to the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man."
Paul: "Needless to say, there were a few rule revisions to the RoboSoccer games the following year."
Chris: "Years of steroid abuse have drastically altered Asimo's personality and physical appearance."
Joe: "This could be the biggest thing to happen for Open Source, EVER!"
Jacob: "I AM THE VOICE OF THE GENERATION!"
Darren: "Ah, so that's what those waivers that mom had to sign were for."
Richard: "Kanye's backstage rants have really gotten out of control, haven't they?"
Thomas: "Wait until you see me pee."

Exploding iPod touch sets kid's pants on fire, melts his underwear, causes untold emotional pain

by Paul Miller, posted Mar 13th 2009 at 9:01PM

An Ohio mom is filing a lawsuit against Apple on behalf of her son, whose "iTouch" popped in his pocket and proceeded to torch his pants. He had to be treated for second degree burns on his leg, had a hole burnt through his pants pocket and got an underwear melting to top it all off. Also, according to the lawsuit, "He continues to suffer from both physical and mental conditions which will cause him to suffer pain, mental distress, emotional distress, and otherwise for the rest of his life." Poor kid! In addition to Apple, the lawsuit seemingly randomly names 10 Apple retail employees, and wants $150,000+ and attorney fees in damages. While we've seen a couple burnt charging cables of late, this is the first we've heard of an iPod touch "popping," and it's especially odd because the lawsuit claims the iPod was turned off at the time of the incident. Whether or not that's true, we'll be certainly keeping an eye on a trend developing here. When it comes to our children, burning pants are everyone's business.

Is the iPhone hotter than we think?

by Tim Stevens, posted Mar 4th 2009 at 9:29AM

It's hard to call two incidents of some occurrence around the world a trend, but, when those incidents both involve an electrical device catching fire spontaneously, it creates a situation that's hard to ignore -- especially when that device is the iPhone. On Saturday, Italian blogger Tim Colbourne was charging his 3G handset and, after three hours, it sparked and caught fire at the base. Tim did a little investigation and found a case of a Swedish handset doing the same thing back in 2008, making us a little concerned that there could be more melted chargers out there. Apple replaced that earlier phone after something of a fight, and while we're hoping they'll be a little friendlier here, we're also hoping this gives Cupertino another bit of incentive to go ahead and switch over to micro-USB already. All the cool kids are doing it, and you don't see their cables catching fire -- usually.

[Via Cult of Mac]

LG recalls 30,000 830 Spyder handsets for crappy 911 connections

by Darren Murph, posted Mar 1st 2009 at 11:53AM

While things like copy and paste, multimedia messaging and video calling are nice extras to have, there's really only one thing that's most important when it comes to a reliable cellphone: the 911 functionality. Evidently, around 30,000 LG 830 Spyder handsets aren't having the easiest time dialing for help, with a product recall noting that a huge swath of 'em have "difficulty sustaining a connection or have poor voice quality on calls to emergency 911." It should be noted, however, that LG's actually being really, really proactive here, as it has only received a single report (and no injuries) to date. The Spyder phones affected have software versions T83LGV03 and T83LGV04, and you can hit the read link if you suspect yours is amongst that 30,000.

[Via textually]

AT&T Quickfire could overheat, spontaneously burst into irony if charged incorrectly

by Chris Ziegler, posted Feb 25th 2009 at 12:34PM

Quick... fire. Quickfire. Our brains are melting (as are the phones, apparently).

Follow the break for AT&T's email to customers.

Continue reading AT&T Quickfire could overheat, spontaneously burst into irony if charged incorrectly

Sony to shutter Japanese TV plant as part of restructuring efforts

by Darren Murph, posted Jan 21st 2009 at 10:44PM

Hey Sony -- we know that experiencing your first annual operating loss in 14 years calls for drastic measures, but this is bordering on downright rash. Barely a month after announcing that 16,000 employees would be axed, Sony has now revealed plans to close one of its two television plants in Japan and rid itself of 2,000 domestic full-time jobs as it attempts to "revive its electronics business." Of note, it's stated that those 2,000 -- which seem to be a part of the previously mentioned 16,000 figure -- will be shed via "early retirement and other programs." Just think what a 40-inch XEL-1 would do for business. No, seriously Sony, just think.

[Image courtesy of DigitalWorldTokyo]

ioSafe announces Solo, the external, submersible, fire-proof HDD enclosure

by Tim Stevens, posted Jan 13th 2009 at 3:01PM

ioSafe announces Solo, the external, submersable, fire-proof HDD enclosure

The last time we heard from ioSafe they were taking 2.5-inch HDDs, wrapping them in armor, then stuffing them into 3.5-inch enclosures -- adding fire and water protection in a standard form factor. Now they've given up on the internal route and have gone for something a little larger and more durable, fitting Western Digital or Seagate disks into hardened external USB 2.0 cases capable of being submersed in ten feet of water for three days or surviving a raging inferno for 30 minutes. $199 gets you a 500GB model, but, since you'd probably have a hard time upgrading the drive in there without a jackhammer, we'd recommend going straight for the $349 1.5TB model -- early adopters get a tidy $50 off!

Update: Jason commented to let us know they also use Seagate drives.