Fire crews sent to Apple Store over 'smoking battery'

AppleInsider

Apple Braehead in Scotland, and the surrounding shopping center, were evacuated as fire crews attended an incident with a "smoking battery."

Apple Braehead

The Apple Store is in Glasgow at the Braehead Shopping Center, where the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) was called to the scene at 4.22 pm local time on February 8, 2022.

According to Glasgow Times, four fire engines were sent. It's a standard response to a possible fire at a large shopping center, but ultimately the issue was contained quickly.

Reportedly, alarms had been set off by a smoking battery. Fire crews used a sand bucket to extinguish the device.

It's not know what battery it was, or how the incident occurred.

Read on AppleInsider

command_f

Good to see that they take 'No Smoking' so seriously these days. 

mplsp

I just can’t get past the image of 4 fire trucks and 10-20 fire fighters showing up, rushing into the store and putting a phone in a bucket of sand!

webweasel

MplsP said:

I just can’t get past the image of 4 fire trucks and 10-20 fire fighters showing up, rushing into the store and putting a phone in a bucket of sand!

It’s in a shopping mall. A small fire has a possibility of getting much bigger or impacting a lot of people. Yes it was overkill but better safe than sorry.

nyc362

First, I really think Apple needs to update the photos of their stores online... the one here is showing iPad 2!  That's eleven years ago!

Second, in the US for certain, the Genius repair rooms have buckets of sand for exactly this purpose.  I would imagine that's the same in all stores regardless of country.  Also, the stores have thick steel cabinets to hold items that have a risk of a battery "thermal event."   I wonder if this "event" was over before the fire brigade actually got there.

mplsp

webweasel said:

MplsP said:

I just can’t get past the image of 4 fire trucks and 10-20 fire fighters showing up, rushing into the store and putting a phone in a bucket of sand!

It’s in a shopping mall. A small fire has a possibility of getting much bigger or impacting a lot of people. Yes it was overkill but better safe than sorry.

Yes, I understand that, and I’m not saying the response was inappropriate, just that it makes for a rather humerus image!

hammeroftruth

NYC362 said:

First, I really think Apple needs to update the photos of their stores online... the one here is showing iPad 2!  That's eleven years ago!

Second, in the US for certain, the Genius repair rooms have buckets of sand for exactly this purpose.  I would imagine that's the same in all stores regardless of country.  Also, the stores have thick steel cabinets to hold items that have a risk of a battery "thermal event."   I wonder if this "event" was over before the fire brigade actually got there.

I think it depends on the tenure of the technician. A seasoned technician would bury the device in sand and if there was time, put it in the fire safe. A newer one might yell and take off and leave it burning on the bench. 

The other thing to remember is the smoke from a lithium ion battery is highly toxic and more dangerous than the flames. That could be the reason why the fire department was called. 

macgui

MplsP said:

webweasel said:

MplsP said:

I just can’t get past the image of 4 fire trucks and 10-20 fire fighters showing up, rushing into the store and putting a phone in a bucket of sand!

It’s in a shopping mall. A small fire has a possibility of getting much bigger or impacting a lot of people. Yes it was overkill but better safe than sorry.

Yes, I understand that, and I’m not saying the response was inappropriate, just that it makes for a rather humerus image!

So you're saying it tickled your funny bone?

mr lizard

Nice to see Apple copying Samsung for a change.