It looks like Dells aren't the only laptops on the block to catch fire. Employees in Kristiansand "got an unpleasant surprise when the battery In their 12" Powerbook G4 laptop suddenly caught fire yesterday."
The fire originated from the battery, and then "fell out, even though it was locked." He pushed the laptop into a metal trash can to contain it, but that's when things got interesting.
I would compare this to the type of fire you saw in Kuwait during the first Gulf war, Skrede tells. - This type of laptop uses lithium-ion batteries, and they create their own oxygen when they burn. So you can't stop the fire by choking it, halon doesn't work either. Putting out the fire with water is not to be recommended, as poisonous gases develop, and water dissipates it faster.
Full translation of the article after the jump.
Mac tok fyr p skrivebordet [Itavisen - Thanks to Benny for the translation!]
The employees of "Ide` til Produkt AS" in Kristiansand got an unpleasant surprise when the battery In their 12" Powerbook G4 laptop suddenly caught fire yesterday.
The laptop was placed on a rack from Apple, and I used external keyboard and monitor. Suddenly smoke appeared from the corner of the laptop, were the battery was situated. I instinctively moved away, and then flames shot out of the laptop.
Then the battery fell out, even though it was locked, S lve Skrede tells ITavisen.no
Skrede, with the help of a available keyboard managed to push the battery from the desktop to a trash bin made out of steel. Then he carried the trash bin to the concrete floor outside the office, in the nick of time - because in the trash bin the fire escalated.
- I would compare this to the type of fire you saw in Kuwait during the first Gulf war, Skrede tells.
- This type of laptop uses lithium-ion batteries, and they create their own oxygen when they burn. So you can't stop the fire by choking it, halon doesn't work either.
Putting out the fire with water is not to be recommended, as poisonous gases develop, and water dissipates it faster.
Just after the incident he contacted Apple about what had happened. They took the incident seriously, the laptop will be sent to Apples labs in Ireland, and replaced.
Skrede isn't too worried about material loss, but security is the main issue here.
I'd like to think that this is the outcome of a series of coincident, but it still is important to determine the exact cause of this, to avoid it happening again in the future, Skrede concludes.
He shudders at the thought of this happening in a plane or in a residence with the owners asleep.