Tempe family has close call with fiery smartphone

TEMPE (AZFamily) — Gianni Delgado had his phone in his pocket just seconds before it caught on fire.

“My pocket was hot, and I took the phone out,” he told On Your Side. “The next thing I know, about three-foot flames come out of the back of the phone and then I’m just watching it explode right in front of my eyes, just be burnt up to a crisp.”

The fire lasted for about 15 seconds, according to Delgado.

“You know how a bag of popcorn could start to expand? It started to expand on the back of the phone like that, and then that’s when the flames shot out,” he said.

The Motorola phone was brand new. Gianni’s mom, Jennifer Younghans, had purchased three phones, two for her kids and one for herself, three weeks earlier when she switched her cell phone plan to Cricket Wireless.

“They said there’s nothing they can do. It’s under a 12-month warranty, but there’s nothing they can do,” Younghans said. “That doesn’t make any sense to me, so then we filed a claim with Motorola. It’s a six-to-eight-week turnaround for them to respond, and in the meantime, I can’t get a phone for him.”

Younghans worries her son will miss important phone calls, but more than that, she worries about the what-ifs.

“I worry every day my kid is at school with her phone or me at work. I leave it on my desk all the time when I run errands to the office. What if my desk catches on fire?” she said. “I want to protect the other consumers out there who are possibly buying this phone and possibly could have the same situation.”

On Your Side reached out to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The agency says lithium-ion batteries in cell phones are more sensitive to physical stress than alkaline batteries, like you’d find in toys or flashlights, so they need to be treated with more care. The agency recommends several precautions.

• Do not use incompatible cell phone batteries and chargers. Some Web sites and second-hand dealers, not associated with reputable manufacturers and carriers, might be selling incompatible or even counterfeit batteries and chargers. Consumers should purchase manufacturer or carrier recommended products and accessories. If unsure about whether a replacement battery or charger is compatible, contact the manufacturer of the battery or charger.
• Do not permit a battery out of the phone to come in contact with metal objects, such as coins, keys or jewelry.
• Do not crush, puncture or put a high degree of pressure on the battery as this can cause an internal short-circuit, resulting in overheating.
• Avoid dropping the cell phone. Dropping it, especially on a hard surface, can potentially cause damage to the phone and battery. If you suspect damage to the phone or battery, take it to a service center for inspection.
• Do not place the phone in areas that may get very hot, such as on or near a cooking surface, cooking appliance, iron, or radiator.
• Do not get your phone or battery wet. Even though they will dry and appear to operate normally, the circuitry could slowly corrode and pose a safety hazard.
• Follow battery usage, storage and charging guidelines found in the user’s guide.

A review of reports to SaferProducts.gov reveals other reports about phone fires across several makes and models.

“It’s not that I want to make trouble for the company,” Younghans said. “I just want them to make the product efficient and working and safe.”

Motorola did not respond to On Your Side’s questions, but confirmed to Younghans the company received the phone for evaluation. A spokesperson for Cricket Wireless said the company would look into the issue, but re-iterated they are a retailer, not the manufacturer.

See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.