Tangled Wires Cause Phone Charger to Catch Fire

A mobile phone charger is being blamed for a fire in New Zealand that caused significant damage to a residential home. The Hamilton resident had apparently put his Sharp GX20 phone on charge for around half an hour when the charger caught fire.

"I saw the room was well-ablaze, there were flames up the wall, the bed was on fire and there was a lot of black smoke pouring out of the room ," the man, who did not want to be named, told the New Zealand Herald newspaper.

"I tried to fight it with the garden hose and a guy who used to be a firefighter came over to help but by then it was too far gone," he added.

A representative of the fire brigade said that the wires were tangled up, and that contributed to overheating and probably caused the fire. Hamilton senior station fire officer Dave Jenkins said "It's not overly common but it certainly does happen."

Vodafone spokesman Paul Brislen said he knew of one instance where a person charged their phone under a pillow. "It's probably better to charge it on a safe place like a table," he said.

On the web: New Zealand Herald

Posted to the site on 23rd April 2009