May 18th, 2009 •

About 70,000 lithium-ion batteries used in Compaq and HP notebook computers were recalled last week by Hewlett-Packard Co., as they could overheat and potentially catch on fire.

The HP laptop battery recall was issued after at least two incidents were reported where the computer batteries ruptured and caused flames to ignite. The fires did not result in any personal injuries, but property damage was reported.

…. more at LINK

Owners of HP Pavilion, Compaq Presario, HP and HP Compaq laptops have been urged to check their battery and remove any defective batteries that have been recalled. A free replacement battery can be obtained by contacting HP at (800) 889-2031 or visiting www.hp.com/support/BatteryReplacement.

My SmokeShutoff  power strip would add a measure of safety for when you must leave the laptop plugged in.

A few firefighters have minor injuries and a duplex is destroyed after it erupts in flames, twice! The first fire started around eight last night. The Fire Marshall said a laptop charger sparked the blaze.

LINK

Three fire trucks from the Milledgeville Fire Department, an EMS vehicle, several Milledgeville Police cars and an additional fire truck from Baldwin County Fire Rescue were also on the scene to help out with the emergency.

With a charred essence wafting through the air, Dietrich explained the initial results of the investigation.

“It was an electrical fire, and it’s still being investigated,” he said. “A couple of things were plugged into a receptacle, including a laptop and a battery charger, and one of the items was sitting on top of a chair and the chair caught on fire.”

more at LINK

Laptops get heat buildup on batteries if left on upholstered furniture.  My power strip might have shut off this laptop before ignition, during the smoldering phase.

WARNING: Computer Probable Cause Of Piqua House Fire

Steve Baker, Northern Bureau Chief

Sunday, November 30, 2008 – updated: 8:10 pm EST November 30, 2008

PIQUA, Ohio — Piqua fire investigators said “it is highly probable that a laptop computer left on and placed on a fabric living room couch,” is the cause of a fire that heavily damaged a house at 1516 Madison Ave. Friday afternoon.It is the home of Matt Taylor, his wife, 10-month-old child, two dogs and two cats. Matt is a lieutenant on the nearby Lockington Volunteer Fire Department.

Friday afternoon Matt said he was home using his laptop computer when the Lockington Fire Department was dispatched to a traffic crash in Shelby County. Matt left his computer turned on, plugged into the electrical socket, on the living room couch.

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The SmokeShutoff power strip can prevent many of these fires, shutting the laptop off before the worst damage.

Laptop starts house fire

3/11/2008

An electrical fault in a laptop on a sofa started a fire which caused extensive damage in a terraced house at Penmaenmawr.

It happened late on Saturday night at the property in David Street. A smoke alarm enabled the occupants, a man and a woman, to safely escape.

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Often it’s not a defective laptop.  Many laptop batteries get hot enough to cause smoke when the laptop is resting on upholstered furniture.

from Keith Grauman The Hastings Star-Gazette

According to Assistant Fire Chief and Fire Marshal John Townsend, the fire started in the first floor family room located at the rear of the house. It is believed to have been started by an overheated laptop computer that was sitting on a piece of upholstered furniture.

Sullivan said the experience will have a lasting effect on her.

“Emotionally, it’s going to take a long time to heal,” she said. “I am still waking up in the night and asking myself if I unplugged something. Ridiculous things that I never would have even thought about unplugging in the past now I’m walking around the house, making sure I’m turning things off, that I’m unplugging things.”

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This was a case where the laptop overheated because the surface it was on prevented cooling. My power strip can make ALL laptops safer in case they overheat because of their placement or any defect, it turns them off during smoldering, before flames erupt.

Laptop electrical problem causes house fire Monday a.m.

TheStarPhoenix.com

Published: Monday, June 09, 2008

An electrical problem involving a laptop computer was the cause of a fire in a basement bedroom in the Parkridge neighbourhood early Monday morning, fire officials say.

Crews rushed to the bi-level home at 25-127 Gropper Crescent at 5:11 a.m., after receiving a report of a smoke detector sounding inside.

When they got to the scene, they quickly located the downstairs fire and extinguished the flames before they spread outside the bedroom. Nevertheless, smoke damage to the rest of the home was significant, according to a press release.

No one was home at the time of the blaze, and no firefighters were injured. A fire investigator determined it to be accidental.

The investigator estimated total damages to the home and its contents from heat and smoke to be $50,000.

LINK

Spring Hill, Florida – It’s pretty hard to tell, but a molten lump sitting outside a Spring Hill home used to be a laptop computer. And now it’s being blamed for fire and heartache.

Looking around her family room, Sharon Robbins can hardly believe her eyes. So much of her home damaged and the death of two cats is tough to take. “It’s like a bad dream and I can’t wake up. It’s like, ‘This is not my house. This is not my life,’” says Robbins.

Investigators say it’s obvious the laptop was somehow involved with sparking Tuesday’s fire. The plugged-in computer was sitting on a small foot stool and on top of a towel and some papers.

more at LINK

People don’t know how dangerous laptop batteries can be.  Funny how there’s a thermal fuse in the laptop to keep the CPU from overheating but there’s no thermal shutoff for the laptop battery.   Manufacturers pride themselves on fast recharge times at the expense of safety.  My power strip can cut off power to the recharger or AC adapter before the smoke turns to flames.

An overheated adapter plugged into a laptop computer is being blamed for an apartment fire in the city’s northwest Saturday (May 3).

No one was injured in the fire that caused an estimated $125,000 in damage to a fourth floor apartment at 465 Castlegrove Blvd., at around 5 p.m.

…

London Fire Department Platoon Chief Syd Gatenby …

more at LINK

Officials determined a DC adapter for a laptop computer had been placed on the carpet and overheated, igniting both the carpet and the couch.

My power strip can make these devices safer, reducing the amount of smoke damage by shutting the device off at the first sign of smoke.

Laptop sparks Glen Iris blaze

Kate Bruce-Rosser

25Mar08

…
Metropolitan Fire Brigade Commander Mark Milaszewicz said eight trucks responded to the fire and controlled it within 40 minutes.

….Owner George Livaditis said the fire was caused by a laptop computer overheating on the charger.

He urged other people to be wary and turn off electrical equipment at the power point.

Station officer Alex Conway, of the fire investigation analysis unit, confirmed “the cause of the fire was a computer laptop charger”.

…

Mr Conway said the fire caused about $500,000 worth of damage.

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