Cell Phone Ignites, Causing Serious Fires and Burns
A serious fire in Vallejo, California was apparently caused by a cell phone igniting in a man’s pocket. The cell phone started a fire which engulfed Luis Picaso’s hotel room and seriously burned him over half of his body. Picaso, age 59, has second-and third-degree burns on his upper body, back, right arm and leg. The Vallejo Fire Department assistant chief, Kurt Henke, reports that Picaso is in stable condition. The firefighters responded to his hotel Saturday evening and found Picaso injured on the floor because a malfunctioning cell phone in his pocket had set fire to his clothing. The fire then spread throughout the room. Investigators have not reported the phone’s manufacturer and model.
A spokesperson with the Vallejo Fire Department, Bill Tweedy said, “There have been a couple other cases in California in the past few years. It’s no different than any other fires involving mechanical or electrical items.” One such incident was reported in June of 2004 when a 16-year-old female received serious burns when the cell phone in her pocket ignited. “The phones get warm after you’ve been talking for a long time and the powerful batteries in them can overheat… [This and other similar accidents] just happe[n] and could happen anytime,” Tweedy said.
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