Battery operated socks linked to hotel fire

[ski diva]

Now this is totally crazy:

Battery-operated socks linked to Burke Mountain Hotel fire​

Authorities say a fire in a room at the Burk Mountain Hotel on Saturday was sparked by battery-operated heated socks.(wcax)

BURKE, Vt. (WCAX) - Authorities say a fire in a room at the Burke Mountain Hotel on Saturday was sparked by battery-operated heated socks.

Fire crews from several towns responded around 7 p.m. Saturday to the fifth floor of the hotel and found heavy smoke. Guests were evacuated from the hotel. Crews were able to contain the fire and damage to one room. Fire crews and hotel staff helped guests return back inside safely.

The fire chief says the incident was accidental and that a guest’s battery-operated heated socks shorted electrically, which caused the batteries to catch fire and move to the wall.

The hotel posted on Facebook that they were very grateful for the swift and professional response of the local fire department.

 

[MissySki]

I wish they mentioned the brand since there is such a huge range of heated ski socks.

 

[Basil]

Oh wow! This is why I never leave anything plugged in when I’m not at home. I’m always having to tell the kids to unplug their wall chargers when they aren’t in use.

 

[VTsnowflower]

I wish they mentioned the brand since there is such a huge range of heated ski socks.

Me too. I've recently chatted with several people who have bought cheap Chinese heated socks or gloves (and complained about problems.)

 

[contesstant]

Yikes! I have questions, since I have battery heated socks! I always lay mine face up, with the charging buttons up and not in contact with the carpet, after they are charged. They have covers that can snap on the charging buttons when traveling. I wonder if they were on the charger when this happened? If so, again, YIKES!

 

[Matro]

wow--scary cautionary tale! I am new to battery socks this year and will take care when I charge the batteries!!

 

[KathrynC]

It's not clear if these were charging or not, but this acts as a general reminder not to leave anything with a rechargable battery charging unattended.

I almost caused a fire at work a few years ago when my phone caught fire while charging - thankfully I was at my desk when it went up. If I hadn't been there to notice it immediately, it could have been nasty.

There's also a cautionary tale from a mountaineering school in Scotland, which lost a wing of its building several years ago when someone attending a course left a headtorch charging in their room.

Glad this one was kept relatively contained!

 

[MissySki]

I think it is a good rule of thumb not to leave stuff charging when away. BUT think of how many people have heated socks, gloves, vests, Hotronics etc. just on this forum... and I have never heard of anyone's catching on fire.

I do make sure to only charge when I am up at my condo though. So like on Sundays when I come back from skiing I don't charge batteries as I am leaving I wait until I go back up the next week and then charge for the following day.

I still also think that it is not very helpful when they don't list the brand that had an issue here as it could be some cheapo made product on Amazon from goodness knows where versus a reputable manufacturer of heated socks that most of us would be using. Though who knows.

 

[KathrynC]

I think it is a good rule of thumb not to leave stuff charging when away. BUT think of how many people have heated socks, gloves, vests, Hotronics etc. just on this forum... and I have never heard of anyone's catching on fire.

I do make sure to only charge when I am up at my condo though. So like on Sundays when I come back from skiing I don't charge batteries as I am leaving I wait until I go back up the next week and then charge for the following day.

I still also think that it is not very helpful when they don't list the brand that had an issue here as it could be some cheapo made product on Amazon from goodness knows where versus a reputable manufacturer of heated socks that most of us would be using. Though who knows.

As you rightly point out, fires from recharging batteries are rare events given the number of rechargable gadgets that most people own and how frequently they are recharged.

However, that does not stop them from being a known risk and does not stop them from being serious when they do happen - lithium battery fires are notoriously difficult to put out.

I will also comment that I have personally experienced three battery fires over the last 10 years - the one I mentioned above with my phone was just the one that had the potential to be the most serious because of the location.

I'm not suggesting that anyone hover over something every second while it is charging. I do, however, unplug anything that is charging in my office if I am going out for more than a few minutes, unplug anything charging in my house if I leave the house for more than a few minutes, and don't charge anything overnight.

Finally, the risk of a battery catching fire while charging decreases significantly if you use the original adaptor - it's the plug part that is important here, not the cable.

 

[Basil]

I do make sure to only charge when I am up at my condo though. So like on Sundays when I come back from skiing I don't charge batteries as I am leaving I wait until I go back up the next week and then charge for the following day.

I do the same thing. I charge my batteries when I arrive on a Friday before I go to bed. And I don’t leave them charging when I leave for a week. Part of my routine is to unplug all wall chargers as part of the clean up to go.

I would also add to purchase power blocks/usb hubs and cords from reputable brands. Idk if this was the case in this instance but I’ve seen reports of cheap amazon power blocks getting hot or starting fires. I usually purchase Anker brand and I’ve never had an issue. I have a usb hub that has various cords that charge my socks, phone, iPad, watch, headphones, etc. But like I said that gets unplugged from the wall when no one is there.