Laptop left on couch catches fire

[Elli]

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.

[brassmonkey]

hahaha canadians

[ToplistBlog_Com]

I remember hearing about some of these LiON batteries doing that a few years ago... there was a video on YouTube somewhere about it...

[rowan]

That's taking it to the next level... this is worse than burning your penis.

Whenever I sit my lappie down I always make sure I put it onto a flat surface, or if that is not available, stick a book under one end to aid with ventilation. Why does the air inlet always seem to be on the bottom?

[qxm]

Looks like a violent reaction.......

[David!]

I've told so many people not to use their penises or their beds as a desk

[CunningStunt]

I always put mine on a raised rack, they can get damn hot.

[tiger]

I'm about ready to toss mine, either that or just use it as a space heater.

[madawgz]

wow really?

i sometimes leave my laptop running when i go out, and its lying on the bed...scary shit

[hypedough]

That's pretty sad, but most people know if you block the fan the laptop will become blazing hot.

[SleazyDream]

i saw the title and got really worried about you elli.......

[VeriSexy]

Wow.. I would have never guessed

[camchoice]

Who of the guys puts it on their lap ?

Pasche said a much larger concern involves laptop heat emissions and ?a decrease in spermatogenesis,? or the production of healthy male sperm.

The issue was given considerable ink in 2004, when a U.S. study printed in the leading medical journal Human Reproduction said that laptop heat can raise scrotal temperatures up to five degrees, a significant difference.

The study found that ?significant but reversible changes? in sperm production resulted from short-term laptop use. However, using a laptop often day after day doesn?t give the body a chance to recover from heat exposures, and ?may cause irreversible or partially reversible changes in male reproductive function," the study said.

U.S. news outlets trumpeted the news, with headlines like ?Doctors warn young men: Get the laptop off your lap!?

However, a leading fertility doctor in Chicago isn?t overly concerned right now.

?I would view it as an anecdotal report,? said Dr. Edmond Confino.

Confino, who is reproductive endocrinologist and infertility doctor at Northwestern University?s Feinberg School of Medicine, said the knowledge that heat and infertility are connected goes back to Roman times (they noticed hot bath frequenters had trouble bearing children).

Men?s testicles are very temperature-sensitive ? they hang away from the main body to keep their temperature a few degrees cooler than the body?s ?core temperature.?

However, Confino said the study was far from authoritative, and he is still unsure if the heat from laptops is really enough to affect male sperm.

?It needs more work,? he said.

[John-ACWM]

I'll have to warn a lot of friends

[XX_RydeR]

They can and do get quite fucking hot.

One of my laptops can keep a coffee pretty warm if you sit it next to the vent.

[camchoice]

Originally Posted by XX_RydeR

They can and do get quite fucking hot.

One of my laptops can keep a coffee pretty warm if you sit it next to the vent.

Sony Vaio ? I have the same thing here...

[seeandsee]

Originally Posted by Elli

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.

shit happenes

[pornguy]

Originally Posted by qxm

Looks like a violent reaction.......

while that is a very neat video, the simple fact that they Made changes so that this would happen makes it hard to trust the actual reactions. what they should have done was tossed it on a sofa, or simply blocked the air vents. and time lapsed it.