SaferProducts incident

Failure type

Fire / ignition

Incident narrative

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20130528-AC656-2147455752. Severity: Incident, No Injury. Product: kindle fire by Amazon Kindle Fire first generation purchased Dec 2011 Serial Number: KC1FCY230111113. Incident: I have a first generation KINDLE FIRE that's 17 months old and used only occasionally (purchased Dec 2011 when it just came out). I charged the device last week using the charger that came with it, and noticed the edge of the tablet split open. At first I thought it was just a problem with the adhesive, but after 2 later battery charges i observed the following: the center of the tablet now has a bulge (almost double the thickness of the tablet), the area of the bulge is very hot while the device is charging, and the casing of the kindle eventually gave and split open on the right side. I checked amazon.com and other websites to see how I can get the kindle serviced. I read that the same problem has happened to other kindle owners, as early as May 2012, and that it is a problem involving a defective battery that could leak/explode with continued use. I called Amazon's customer support and was told that because my device is out of warranty (they offer a 1-year warranty), they can only offer to sell me refurbished kindles. I was told that they do not have a repair service system in place. What was very shocking is that customer support sounded as though they have not heard of this problem being reported before, when i fact a lot of people have complained about already. I am very upset that the device was not recalled immediately, and amazon refuses to replace the device now that it is out of warranty - a convenient excuse for them. The first generation kindle fire must be recalled as even children use and play with this device.