iPhone Explodes Inside 13-Year-Old's Pocket Leaving Her With First And Second Degree Burns
Apple is in the news yet again, and not for the right reasons this time. A 13-year-old girl in Maine, US suffered first- and second-degree burns as her iPhone spontaneously caught fire while in her pocket.
By Sadho Ram — 02 Feb 2014, 07:56 PM — Updated over 10 years ago
According to reports, school officials in Maine, US, say a 13-year-old girl suffered first- and second-degree burns when her iPhone caught fire in her pants
As quoted in TOI, according to WMTW.com, when the teenager sat down in class she heard a pop and smoke came from her pants.
As her pants caught fire, three of her classmates help her, while a teacher brought a fire extinguisher and blanket to put out the flames.
The unnamed 13-year-old had just arrived for her French class at a Kennebunk middle school. She was burned on the thigh and back.
'She knew right away something was wrong and, in a panic, knew her pants were on fire caused by the cell phone,' principal Jeff Rodman told the Morning Sentinel.
dailymail.co.uk
A group of girls gathered around the student and helped remove her clothes, while boys who were in the class were ushered outside.
'It was sensitive. She knew she was kind of in a tough situation,' Mr Rodman said.
newser.com
The student was then taken to Southern Maine Medical Centre in order to treat the burns she suffered from this incident. She has since been released from the hospital.
The girl's mother was shocked upon hearing the news. She had given her daughter the green iPhone 5C two months ago.
Judy Milligan said she was shocked when the school called to tell her what happened, but said her daughter had remained calm and even asked to go back to school after being treated in hospital.
dailymail.co.uk
Judy Milligan says her daughter was calm and asked to return to school after being treated for burns
Image via dailymail.co.ukShe had Apple’s iPhone “C” model – a less expensive and less popular variation that was released at the same time as the newest iPhone 5 models.
examiner.com
So what happened? Fire officials in Kennebunk are investigating, but one speculates to Seacoast Online that the phone's battery "shorted out" when the girl sat down.
"People should obviously use caution when placing their phones in their back pockets so as not to crush them and cause an electrical short," one official says. (There's no official word from Apple after the report.)
newser.com
"I’ve never seen anything like that,” says the principal, who credits the girl with a "stop, drop, and roll" move when the incident happened.