A Massachusetts woman says her iPhone caused her Dorchester home to fill with smoke on Halloween night.
Shanice George was about to make dinner when she says she started to smell the smoke. She called 911 and firefighters responded, but George says they searched for almost an hour before a family member found the unexpected source: her work cell phone.
“There were some papers on top of it, but he followed the cord and found the phone just completely blown up on top of my book that is also destroyed,” George said of her iPhone 6 Plus.
George never saw any flames from the now charred phone, but she believes something caused it to combust while it was charging in her basement, connected to her Apple laptop.
“We were scared and a little taken back that something so small could cause such a big impact,” George said.
Apple would not comment on this specific case, but told NBC10 Boston the company takes safety very seriously and will be in touch with the customer.
While it is still unclear what caused the phone to smoke in Dorchester, Apple officials have long said several factors can cause a phone to overheat including unauthorized repairs, third-party charging cables, and external damage.
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George said she planned to take her phone to a local Apple store on Friday in search of answers.
“I was using the phone an hour before this happened," she said. "Imagine if this happened while I was using it. That’s pretty scary."
