SaferProducts incident

Failure type

Fire / ignition

Incident narrative

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20180507-1AA2F-1759096. Severity: Injury, Level of care not known. Product: Dell Inspiron 70B72C1 (Service Tag) (lap top computer). Incident: The lap top was turned off, but plugged into the wall outlet. The consumer started to pick up the computer, when he heard a loud popping sound and it burst into flames. There was an immediate fire underneath it. The computer was on a wood table and it burned an area of approx 6" or less on the table. Sparks flew from the computer and landed on a nearby upholstered couch, upholstered chair and the ceramic floor, behind the table. There was also a blanket on the couch, which sustained several burn holes and 1 hole burned completely through it. The consumer burned his right thumb and baby finger, while carrying the computer outside. He applied a burn ointment to the blisters that developed on his fingers and they are feeling better. The hair on his dog was also singed, but the burn was limited to the dogs hair. The computer also made another popping sound, as he placed it outside. The consumer said that the battery had failed, so he plugged into the wall outlet for less than an hour at the time of the incident. 5/7/2018: The consumer called the mfr., but the rep. told him that they could not assist him, because he did not have the information off of the computer. There was soot damage and he did not have that information when he first called the mfr. The consumer was able to later clean up the computer.