When I got there 5 seconds later it was well on fire and the flames were about 30cm high as was the bedding. I grabbed it by the corner and carried it outside to the driveway. There it burnt until we poured a bowl of water over it. The bed also required water thrown over it and then a wet towel thrown over the mattress. The smoke was horrible. One of the battery cells had fallen out of computer and we scraped this into a bowl of water before taking this outside.
I called PC World's The Tech Guys to report the fire, We have two other laptops of the same make. This is a E Systems 4213 laptop. All three were bought 8 Dec 2007 making them exactly one month out of their 12 month warranty period. They refused to cover it, assess the safety of the other two computers or have anything to do with the incident.
Shame on you PC World. It is one thing for a device to stop working outside of its warranty period but quite another for it to self destruct by bursting into flame. We are very lucky that we were not asleep or out at the time. Oddly while our smoke detectors go off frequently due to burning toast or bacon they were never triggered by the battery smoke.
Tentative discussion with the insurers yesterday suggests that they might NOT pay out for the laptop if it is a manufacturer's defect but will pay for the collateral fire damage. It was sitting on the bed and yes the ventilation might have been blocked. I am pretty sure that I can rule out a cracked/punctured battery and it was being used with the manufacturer's power adapter prior to the incident. It had in the last 3 days shown much reduced charge capacity.
ReplyDeleteOur cat seems most traumatised by the event as he was trapped in the room initially. He will require some extra care before he will venture into the room again.
I am still waiting for a reply from PC World regarding an email I have sent to their customer services.
Holy flying cows! Shouldn't the manufacturer also be held accountable for this? Or at the very least should be notified that their machinery is going up in smoke literally. It is scary to think of what might have happened had you not been at home or some such, probably not exactly the thing you want to hear after this.
ReplyDeleteWow, glad you're all okay! I hope you hear some good news from the PC World!!
My email to PC World Customer Services below sent on the evening of the incident.
ReplyDeleteI have in the last 3 years purchased a desktop computer and three laptop
computers from you and have until now been a satisfied customer.
However, I would like to raise a complaint concerning the following issue.
Tonight one of the three laptop computers burst into flame and came close to
setting fire to the entire house. Once the laptop was safely dealt with I
called the Tech Guys to inform them. They were most unhelpful. I can't
believe that this can be the official response of PC World to an issue like
this. The full incident is documented here
http://subtleguru.blogspot.com/2009/01/fire-fire-laptop-computer-catches-fire.html
I am willing to return this computer to you should you wish to investigate
the issue.
thank you
Bobby Abraham
The PC World Response -
ReplyDelete12 January 2009 17:07
subject PCW424000CR, RE: Laptop Computer catches fire
Dear Mr Abraham,
Thank you for your email dated 8th January 2009. I was concerned to learn of the problems you have encountered with your E-Systems 4213 laptop. With the information you have supplied, it seems like the laptop overheated due to inadequate ventilation (ie must not be used in bed).
If you believe this to be a manufacturing defect, you must provide us with an independent engineer's report to support your claim. The report must include the fault, cause and diagnostic procedures used. Upon receipt, we will investigate this fully and contact you again once the decision has been made.
Although this response may not be the outcome you were looking for, I trust that I have clearly explained our position on this matter.
Yours sincerely,
Evita Tapiz
PC World Customer Services
I think form factor is an important specification of motherboards, as the form factor tells what kind of computer case can be used with the motherboard. It catches fire mostly.
ReplyDelete