Fidget spinners have become one of the latest hot trends of today — literally. There have been multiple claims of Bluetooth-enabled fidget spinners catching fire after less than an hour of charging.
Kimberly Allums, a mother in Gardendale, Alabama, was downstairs in her home when she heard the horrifying screams of her son who had plugged in his new high-tech device to charge.
“He noticed that it burst into flames and he just started screaming,” Allums told local news affiliate WBRC. “I was downstairs and all I heard was ‘Fire! Fire!’ and the fidget spinner had literally…It wasn’t smoking, it was in flames.”
Allums said the fidget spinner had been on the charger for less than 45 minutes before it overheated and went up in flames. She and her son were planning on leaving the house for the day before the incident occurred. If they had left moments before the fire started, the family would have likely returned to a home that had been burned down.
She urges people to be aware of who manufactures items that need to be charged.
“I just really want people to be aware of this because a lot of people have been inboxing me reaching out to me leaving messages saying my child has this same fidget spinner,” she said. “Anytime, you have anything that needs to be charged, we really need to be paying attention to the manufactures of these, doing our research.”
Allums claims she tried to contact the company she received the fidget spinner from. However, she couldn’t find any identifying information on the box besides “Made in China.” Although this hasn’t been the first time this dreadful incident occurred, the Consumer Product Safety Commission is currently investigating the matter.
More than 740 miles north of where this disturbing issue happened, Michell Carr, a mother in Fenton, Michigan found herself in a similar scenario when she had bought a fidget spinner as a distracting mechanism from smoking cigarettes.
Carr revealed her scorched fidget spinner that had once been colored bright green to WXYZ, Detroit’s local ABC station. The Bluetooth-powered fidget spinner had sparked her interest because it would light up and play music at the same time. She didn’t realize that soon her new device would literally set off sparks.
She said the fidget spinner didn’t come with directions and after charging it for less than a half an hour, the device caught fire. Carr warns others to take caution when purchasing this item.
“I probably won’t buy another one because of the fear of it,” she said. “I know there’s tons of kids around here that want to go get them now and if you plug it in, just stay by and make sure it’s charged and it doesn’t catch.”
Unfortunately, these types of incidents are far from being uncommon. When hoverboards were a popular fad, they were also prone to overheating and bursting into flames while plugged in to charge. Just three months ago, a house fire in Pennsylvania caused by a charging hoverboard took the life of a 3-year-old girl.
It’s important for consumers to be aware of what they are buying and where their items are coming from. Cheap knockoffs made in China aren’t made with the same safety protocols set in place. Also, people should only use approved charging cords and should stay in their homes while their devices are charging, making sure to unplug all electronic devices before leaving.
