Static Electricity?
California girl burned by cell phone

 

July 2, 2004

A teenage California girl suffered second degree burns when her cell phone caught fire in her back pocket, according to the Ontario Fire Department.

The 16-year-old was volunteering at a youth recreation center when witnesses heard a loud "whooshing" sound, said Frank Huddleston, a Ontario Fire Department investigator. Ontario is east of Los Angeles near San Bernardino.

Huddleston said the victim didn't even know what was happening. The girl was in a kitchen and the flames were quickly extinguished, Huddleston said.

The teenager was rushed to Chino Valley Medical Center where she was treated and released with second-degree burns to her right buttock.

Investigators could not identify the model number of the Verizon Koyocera cell phone, because of the extensive damage.