NEW YORK — The NYPD is urging people not to leave their cellphones near their beds because the phones could catch fire.
On Monday, the Deputy Inspector Wilson Aramboles of the NYPD’s 33rd Precinct tweeted a collection of ghastly pictures showing charred pillow cases, blackened bedding and burnt phones. The tweet warned against putting cellphones under pillows while sleeping or when charging.
Aramboles tweeted the photos as a “tip” and not because of a specific incident in New York. The photos are from various past incidents of phones overheating and catching fire.
“It is recommended that you leave these types of devices on a hard surface so the heat can dissipate. The batteries heat up, they could melt—in some cases, explode—and cause a fire,” a fire chief told NBC Connecticut last May after a teen’s phone set fire to his bed.
While keeping a hot phone away from flammable materials might seem like a no-brainer, some people choose to sleep with their phones nearby and rely on vibrating alarms.
In November, Dwayne Blanchard posted a picture to Facebook after his son left a Bluetooth speaker charging on top of a pillow, setting fire to the bed.
In 2014, a 13-year-old’s Samsung Galaxy S4 was “unrecognizable” after the battery swelled, started a fire and melted the phone.
Another Samsung Galaxy S4 caused a 25-year-old trouble the same year. She left hers charging on the floor overnight, and the phone caught fire and burned the rug it was laying on, as well.
