Charging iPhone bursts into flames on family’s counter as they slept, Ohio video shows

A family was sleeping in their Cincinnati, Ohio, home when an iPhone charging on the kitchen counter suddenly caught fire, video shows.

But the Leisgang family was unaware of the fire until the next morning, when they saw black soot and fragments of the phone along the counter, WCPO reported.

Brian Leisgang shared video of the fire on Facebook, saying it happened after he and his family went to sleep on Sunday, Jan. 8. The phone was an iPhone 4, which Leisgang said is used by his children, according to WCPO.

The fire didn’t last long, but the flames lit up the kitchen and living room.

Leisgang said the family was “extremely lucky to avoid a house fire.”

“Luckily we had just cleaned off the counter yesterday as it usually has lots of school books and papers in that area,” he said on Facebook.

While it’s unlikely, some phones have been known to catch fire. Gizmodo reported in 2010 that an iPhone 4 caught fire from a faulty USB port. A Colorado woman also woke up to her iPhone 4 on fire in 2012, CNET reported.

Fires in smartphones are most often caused by the device’s battery, which are made with lithium-ion.

“When something goes wrong, the inner components of the battery can break down and create a volatile reaction that can lead to fires,” PC Mag said.

Apple said using damaged cables or chargers, or charging in an area where there is moisture, could cause a fire or electric shock.

This story was originally published January 12, 2023 at 1:05 PM with the headline "Charging iPhone bursts into flames on family’s counter as they slept, Ohio video shows."