Watch out, people. Those little beasties need lots of air flow!
http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/200...vancouver.html
Laptop fire blamed for Vancouver death
Last Updated: Wednesday, August 26, 2009 | 3:07 PM ET
An overheated laptop computer left on a couch caused a fire that killed a 56-year-old Vancouver man, the Coroners Service of British Columbia has concluded.
The fire took place six months ago, but the victim's name has not been released.
The fire started after the computer was left on a couch, plugged in and turned on. Because of the lack of ventilation under the laptop, less than an hour later the lithium-ion battery overheated and burst into flames, sparking the fire that eventually killed the man.
The coroner did not release the make of computer involved in the death, but did say several makes of laptops have been recalled in recent years due to problems with lithium-ion batteries overheating and bursting into flames.
Since 2004 in B.C., four other laptops have either overheated or short-circuited when left plugged in, causing fires. The death earlier this year, however, was the first in B.C. blamed on a laptop fire, the coroner said in statement issued Wednesday morning.
And there have been 15 other fires caused by short-circuiting or overheating in such equipment as personal computers, DVD players, and cellphone chargers.