Motorist in laptop blaze
Exploding battery to blame?
A UK motorist recently had a lucky escape after a fire in her car’s boot, which it’s alleged may have been started by an exploding laptop battery.
Sarah Williams with her damaged laptop and mangled battery
Credit: Hereford Times
Sarah Williams — aged 32 and from Hereford — was parked at some traffic lights when she suddenly heard a loud bang in her car’s boot. The bang, which she described as similar to the sound of popping tyres, was followed by flames.
Luckily a nearby motorist — network support engineer Ray Wilson — came to her aid.
“He must have dragged the laptop out with some wood as the wood was singed,” Williams told local newspaper the Hereford Times. “He stamped it out with his foot.”
The laptop’s make or model hasn’t been disclosed, and it’s unclear if the machine had been left switched on while in Williams’s car boot.
Whatever the case, a picture of the woman holding the “laptop that ignited in her car” and a severely mangled battery was published by the local newspaper.
Thanks to reader Steve for the heads-up. ®
COMMENTS
Battery recall
How convenient that just a week ago, HP had a battery recall on "affected" batteries. Mostly thats a HP dv6000 series. Guess someone got the short end of the stick.
Several Points...
“He must have dragged the laptop out with some wood as the wood was singed,”
1)Wood + Laptop = WTF! (that's not how I store a laptop!)
“He stamped it out with his foot.”
2)That laptop doesn't look very stamped out!
3) Why would anyone in there right mind attempt to stamp out a chemical fire? I know that I wouldn't! Once its out of the car let it burn!
Talking of which Chemical Fires usually produce loads of car damaging Toxic Fumes.. yet no mention of such.. especially since, said car filled with smoke, her first reaction would be to release her hord of sprogs from relevant safty seats... whereas seems she went straight to the boot.. odd that.
one might suspect that undamaged car, undamaged stamped upon laptop, un-smoke-damaged sprogs. might lead to another conclusion. possibly involving a completly seperate nail.
Maybe I'm missing something
But am I expected to believe that is the actual laptop that the battery blew up in?
With no scorching visible on the upper plastics at all?
HP batteries recall..
..was on Oct'08 and May'09. Even the HP update manager informs you about this..
The question is if that woman gave attention to that warnings or did nothing...
@ Allan George Dyer
.. to me that looks like a reflection of their mirror? Maybe at a push a random TV or something?
Look below the large shiny thing, looks like a fireplace with pictures on it.
