3 On Your Side: Portable Battery Chargers May Pose Fire Risk
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Keeping phones and tablets charged is a challenge of modern life. They always seem to be running low on power, so portable battery packs are a common solution. But as 3 On Your Side Consumer Reporter Jim Donovan explains, they can also pose a danger.
It's the hunt for power. But when plugging-in isn't possible, portable battery packs can be a good solution. Most of the time.
"Once I felt my knee actually burning, it sort of had a little flash back on my jeans, and that's when I knew, wait, something is happening," says Michele Grace.
The aftermath tells the story: a rug scorched by fire, charred pieces of a battery pack all over her apartment, and burns to her clothing and skin. Michelle was using a rechargeable device. She says that when she plugged in the USB cord, the battery blew up. According to Michele, "It all happened so fast, I turned around and my couch was on fire, full on flames."
So far, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has 540 recalls or complaints involving all types of charging devices.
"If the battery is fully charged, the fire is more intense," says Yan Wang, an engineering professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He has conducted experiments on lithium battery fires. Although not common, Wang says problems can occur in older devices with battery management systems that no longer work. For instance they keep taking a charge even when they're 100 percent full. Wang says, "You have overheating, and fire, and explosion eventually." Another concern? Many products sold today are cheap imports, or hard to detect counterfeits.
As for Michele Grace, she's just thankful her explosion wasn't worse. She says, "Had I been on an airplane, if I had small kids that were around, that would have been extremely frightening."
In fact just last month the Federal Aviation Administration urged passengers not to pack spare portable lithium battery chargers in checked baggage so as to avoid the risks of fires and accidents.
