iPhone battery fire forces brief evacuation of Zurich Apple store
An Apple store in Zurich, Switzerland was temporarily evacuated on Tuesday after an iPhone's battery at the service desk overheated in the middle of a removal procedure, emitting smoke and burning the worker who was doing the work.
Besides the technician that burned his hand, in all seven people received medical help, Reuters reported. Local police noted that about 50 workers and customers had to leave the shop.
"The staff responded well and correctly," police added in a statement. "It sprinkled quartz sand over the overheated battery so that the smoke could be contained and sucked out after switching on the ventilation."
Forensic specialists were brought in to determine the cause of the fire. It's most likely the battery was damaged either by the owner prior to the service procedure or during the removal procedure, igniting the electrolyte used in lithium-ion batteries from every manufacturer.
Apple recently admitted that it throttles the performance of iPhones with chemically depleted or damaged batteries to protect against sudden shutdowns that can damage electronics. Many people are likely taking advantage of $29 out-of-warranty battery replacements offered to appease the public.
Besides the technician that burned his hand, in all seven people received medical help, Reuters reported. Local police noted that about 50 workers and customers had to leave the shop.
"The staff responded well and correctly," police added in a statement. "It sprinkled quartz sand over the overheated battery so that the smoke could be contained and sucked out after switching on the ventilation."
Forensic specialists were brought in to determine the cause of the fire. It's most likely the battery was damaged either by the owner prior to the service procedure or during the removal procedure, igniting the electrolyte used in lithium-ion batteries from every manufacturer.
Apple recently admitted that it throttles the performance of iPhones with chemically depleted or damaged batteries to protect against sudden shutdowns that can damage electronics. Many people are likely taking advantage of $29 out-of-warranty battery replacements offered to appease the public.
Comments
I'm sure this entire article will be spun into Apple now has iPhones with exploding batteries. Bring on ambulance chasers!
It happened during removal of the battery? Did the technician slip and possibly short out the battery somehow? Did the tech inadvertently damage/puncture/force-remove the battery causing it to pop?
Have no idea, so what so-called "journalists" do nowadays, lets just be the first to publish the headlines, and fix it later. We need the web clicks.
/end-rant
Also interestingly, one of the reasons that battery life can be shortened is damage to the battery. So it may not have been a defective battery or a careless technician but instead a battery with physical damage.
“Apple recently admitted that it throttles the performance of iPhones with weak batteries —not to prevent fires, but nominally to protect against sudden shutdowns that could hurt electronics.”
It’s interesting they evacuated the store. Evacuating the Genius Room would be normal but the entire store seems extreme. Maybe local laws have something to do with it.
”Sprinkle” makes it sound like they were decorating cookies.
rolleyes
Isn't that some oil company?
Edit: Looks like there ae quite a few APPLs now. Polymer manufacturing, trading house, etc.
As to what caused the accident, who knows. My money is on the tech being a little too aggressive in removing the battery, damaging it in the process. There are other possibilities, but that seems most likely to me.
iFixIt recommends depleting the phone battery to 20% or less to reduce the likelihood (or maybe the degree) of exothermic reaction. Apple makes no mention of doing so. I wonder if that's covered when making an appointment for a battery replacement. iFixit also warns against bending/damaging the battery during removal.