Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Woman’s Cell Phone Erupts in Flames

From: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 22 Aug 2003 17:19:33 -0400

Woman’s Cell Phone Erupts in Flames

A Dutch woman’s Nokia cell phone erupted in flames causing her to suffer burns to
her face. Reportedly, the device was dropped and powered off, but when it was
turned back on it suddenly ignited. Nokia commented that the fire was a result of
damage to the phones battery, which was not a Nokia battery, but that of a
third-party. Nokia is currently investigating this case and others in the past
months where non-original mobile phone batteries have overheated.

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Cell Phone Burns Dutch Woman's Face
Thu Aug 21,10:55 AM ET

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands - A Dutch woman who dropped her cell phone suffered serious
burns after it burst into flames when she tried to make a call, police said
Thursday.

The woman, who wasn't identified, turned the Nokia (news - web sites) phone on
after it had fallen and held it up to her ear.
"She was treated on site by health workers for facial burns," police spokesman
Eric Vermeulen said. "I'm not a technical expert, but we assume it caught fire due
to a short circuit."

Reacting on Dutch television, a Nokia official said the fire was caused by the
phone battery, which was not manufactured by Nokia.
 http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=518&ncid=732&e=5&u=/ap/20030821/ap_on_re_eu/netherlands_burning_phone

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DUTCH WOMAN'S FIREY CALL

A Dutch woman suffered burns to her
neck and face when her mobile phone
burst into flames.

It happened after she dropped the
phone in a music shop in central
Amsterdam.

The handset caught fire when she
picked it up and switched it back on, a
police spokesman said.

The 33-year-old was treated for
superficial burns by an ambulance team.

"The battery got hot and then the phone burst into flames," said Jan Willem van
Hofwegen, of Fame Music store.
"It was a Nokia. We later heard she had used a replacement battery."
A Nokia spokesman in Helsinki said similar incidents had happened in the past.
They were always related to faulty batteries from independent electronics
manufacturers, the spokesman said.
"We've heard about phones that overheated, melted and, in the worst case,
exploded," he said.
Last Updated: 17:48 UK, Thursday August 21, 2003

 http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30200-12740074,00.html