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14yo schoolgirl receives 2nd-degree burns when iPhone 5c reportedly catches fire in her pocket

5cfire

The remains of what was once the child’s green iPhone 5c

A 14-year-old schoolgirl from Kennebunk, Maine, has been treated in hospital for second-degree burns after her iPhone 5c caught fire in her pocket whilst at school, reports the Morning Sentinel.

The 14-year-old girl had sat down just before her first-period French class Friday morning when she and her friends sitting nearby heard a pop from the Apple iPhone 5C she had been given by her mother two months earlier.

“Immediately, smoke starts billowing from around the student,” said Jeff Rodman, principal of the Middle School of the Kennebunks. “She knew right away something was wrong and, in a panic, knew her pants were on fire caused by the cellphone.”

The girl – who has not been named – was said to have had the presence of mind to “stop, drop and roll,” at which point the phone fell from her pocket but her pants were still on fire. Classmates and a teacher at the Middle School of the Kennebunks helped the girl remove the pants, wrapping her in a blanket until rescue workers arrived.

The girl was treated for her injuries at the Southern Maine Health Care in Biddeford, and released around 45 minutes later.

She asked to return to class, her mother said, but school officials and health care workers encouraged her to go home.

iPhones contain lithium-ion batteries, faults in which can, in very extreme cases, lead to a fire. A local repair shop owner, Andrew Rosenstein, stressed the rarity of these events.

These batteries installed in Apple products in particular are extremely safe. It’s an extremely rare incident.

Update: One unconfirmed report says that the phone made a ‘popping’ sound when she sat down, suggesting the student may have crushed the phone by sitting on it.

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Comments

  1. p101616 - 10 years ago

    Apple sold x hundred million iPhones and how many are exploded or burned? I mean the exact number to calculate the percentage.

  2. Jánosik Gergő - 10 years ago

    Update: The handset was in the student’s back pocket and made a “popping” noise when she sat down, reports USA Today. Fire officials tell the paper that they believe sitting on the phone cause it to “short out.”

  3. Nicholas Gregory - 10 years ago

    “This girl is on fiiiiiiiiiiiiire”…

  4. mockery17 - 10 years ago

    Yes, because one single rare incident means the same will happen to every iPhone 5c. Following your logic, I should say the US is getting dumber just because there are a few idiots like you.

  5. Ty Lenol - 10 years ago

    Love how the comments are quick to protect the beloved I-Crap… and nobody cared about the kid.
    In other news…

    • ikir - 10 years ago

      Most kid as this one are retarded… so? Apple batteries are extremely safe we all know. So? You say scrap, maybe you should ask yourself if you are legit or just a troll.

  6. Nirmal Dhandapani - 10 years ago

    Well that’s what you get when you buy iPhones for 14 year olds.

  7. Tim Cleary - 10 years ago

    One can assume she is a liar, no? Because her pants did catch fire.

  8. “Seek mental help.”

    You are one to speak. You are the rudest person on this site. No one causes Apple as much harm here as you do. You are an arrogant asshole that ought to have been banned from here a long time ago.

    • Tallest Skil - 10 years ago

      I’ll repeat my question:

      What right do you think you have to post worthless lies about Apple on an Apple website?

      • What right does he have? Is this a joke??? It’s called “Freedom of speech”.

        That same right allows you to be one of the most ignorant posters on this board day in and day out.

        It was no surprise to me to see your name on this board calling the girl moronic because she accidentally damage her phone and it caught on fire. People like you make me sad for the human race. You should learn to be more tolerant of peoples differences and less ignorant about the world around you.

        “Blind belief in authority is the greatest enemy of truth.” – Albert Einstein

        I also believe this applies to people who blindly believe in brands, groups and/or people… and that these brand, groups or people is incapable of fault.

      • 311sie - 10 years ago

        This website is not a government facility of any kind, what does freedom of speech have to do with anything? Followed by an Einstein quote, LOL!! Could you be more lame?

      • Air Burt - 10 years ago

        That was the most idiotic comment I’ve seen on here. This has nothing to do with tolerance.

        “Think before you speak” ⎯ Everyone

      • Tallest Skil - 10 years ago

        >>Freedom of speech

        You’re a complete idiot. Still in the numbered school grades? Come on, boyo.

        >>calling the girl moronic because she accidentally damage her phone

        It SHOULDN’T surprise you. She was a moron. She performed a moronic action. She did not perform an intelligent action, and should not be spoken of as such.

        You don’t run over a bicycle with a car and expect it to still work, much less consider that anything but a moronic action. This is no different.

        >>“Blind belief in authority is the greatest enemy of truth.” – Albert Einstein

        Thanks for the useless and irrelevant quote, expressing nothing relevant to the content being discussed.

        >>I also believe this applies to people who blindly believe in brands, groups and/or people… and that these brand, groups or people is incapable of fault.

        Grow up, sunny boy.

  9. In what kind of propaganda does “14yo schoolgirl” and “the child’s green iPhone” go together? Are we talking about two different people? A 14 year old is hardly a “child”.

    • rob nienburg (@robogobo) - 10 years ago

      Um, yeah, she is. Legally, until she’s 18.

    • PMZanetti - 10 years ago

      She’s “hardly” a child for a good 4 more years, DERP. Even at 18 its debatable.

    • Tallest Skil - 10 years ago

      So you’re an idiot when it comes to Apple AND to laws regarding the legality of children.

      I won’t make the obvious comment here regarding how you now have to find a lawyer versed in consent law.

  10. PMZanetti - 10 years ago

    Sorry Israel, I fail to see where combatting pure stupidity with rudeness makes him or anyone else an asshole.

  11. Steven Gabbard - 10 years ago

    “Seek mental help.” Is that what you had to do, Tallest Skil?

    Hey NQZ. Mention Tallest Skil’s name at the clinic and you will get a discount. As Israel said, Tallest Skil is a joke of a person.

    He sits in his parents basement pumping his chest with each rude comment he makes about others.

    • Tallest Skil - 10 years ago

      Yep. SurgeSoda’s comments are completely and utterly valid, and nothing that I have said here is correct.

      Or maybe you’re just as stupid as he is.

      Answer this: What right do you think you have to post nonsensical lies about Apple on an Apple website?

      I’ll wait.

  12. Martin Robertson - 10 years ago

    Jesus Christ you people are ridiculous lol. One exploding iPhone wouldn’t tarnish Apple’s reputation; in fact, exceptions to rules only prove the rule! You fanboy blog sites ALWAYS have to go out of your way to show that it was probably user error that caused a malfunction. Let’s see how quick you are to jump at the next malfunctioning Android device and blame it on shoddy manufacturing though.

  13. Dewey Whatley - 10 years ago

    Sue Apple Apple is a pos anyways

    • mockery17 - 10 years ago

      Yep, you’re right. Sue everything! It’s POS like you that make the US jurisdiction system so retarded.

  14. Daniel Innj - 10 years ago

    I bought a New iPad and Apple Burned Me!

    Last night I fell asleep while working on my iPad and since I’ve had one Apple Lightning Cable twist and stop working I bought a Belkin 6″ cable and after falling asleep last night with the iPad and Apple charger that came with it in the package I woke up with a Nasty Blistered 2nd degree Burn, WTF APPLE???

    https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151988157846365&set=a.10151857336561365.1073741862.588986364&type=1&theater

Author

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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