A 13-year-old Texas teen was jolted awake recently when her Samsung Galaxy S4 caught on fire after it slipped under her pillow.
Ariel Tolfree mentioned that a burning smell woke her up in the middle of the night.
“I didn’t think much of it, so I went back to sleep, and then I woke up again and it was more prominent,” she said.
Ariel’s dad, Thomas, said he believed the phone had overheated.
“The whole phone melted,” said Thomas. “The plastic, the glass. You can’t even really tell that it was a phone.”
However, Samsung says their products are safe and that the teen was to blame. A spokesperson said the user guide clearly states not to let the phone be smothered with bedding, which “could restrict airflow and cause a fire.”
They also highlighted that the phone’s battery was a replacement unit, and not an original unit from Samsung.
The teen and her dad said they were unaware of that warning.
“If anything, they should put a big warning on it, like a cigarette label, if that’s the case,” Thomas said.
Samsung requested to see the burned phone so they can investigate the fire, and mentioned that they would replace Ariel’s phone, bedding, mattress and pillow.
[Source]
