Firefighters: Laptop battery set mattress on fire
CORVALLIS, Ore. - A laptop battery sparked an apartment fire Wednesday morning, and quick thinking by one of the residents who was home at the time helped limit the damage, firefighters said.
The Corvallis Fire Department traced the ignition point to the battery of a 2008 MacBook Pro. The battery fell out of the laptop computer and ignited bedding and clothing, firefighters said.
Some 2008 MacBook users have reported problems with the battery swelling, according to a discussion thread on Apple.com.
One of the three Oregon State University students who lived in the apartment heard a fire alarm and discovered the fire. He closed the door to the room, which contained the smoke, and evacuated the apartment.
The resident called 911. Firefighters arrived at the apartment and found a smoldering mattress in the room.
The American Red Cross responded to the scene and will be assisting the residents with short term temporary housing, the fire department said.
The fire department cautioned computer users to keep them off of and away from combustible material when not with the device. Also, have the computer inspected or serviced if it tends to run hot or if the batteries do not hold a charge.
Wonder if the unit was "Hot"?  all things aside glad somebody was there to confront the situation, this could have been worse, apples to apples. Lithium batteries have enormous potential both good and bad, ask Boeing.
Apples...there's always a bad one in the barrel... :-P
2008 MacBook users have reported problems with the battery swelling.
Looks like apple should be fitting the bill for this. They manufactured a faulty product and know of it and won't do anything about it. If it is not Apples unit then the manufacture of this unit needs to pay restitution.. NiMh batteries are suppose to have protective circuits to stop this, these circuits failed. the manufacturer needs to be held accountable and should pay for restitution .
 @lee986321 Apple hasn't used NiMH batteries in a LONG time. A NiMH or other older battery chemistry, in the same size as current batteries, wouldn't give you run times in minutes, not hours. Most consumer devices these days, especially the power hungry ones like computers, are running Lithium-Ion or Lithium-Polymer, and the problem is that high energy density batteries like those tend to dramatically overheat when abused. In the case of Li-Poly batteries now common in RC aircraft, instructions say to charge the battery in a clay pot due to the fire danger! Even with the protection circuitry(every self-contained Li-Ion battery, like those found in laptops, has it's own circuit board inside the package just to shut things down when temps get high and to control the charging current) and temp sensors that are supposed to shut down the charging circuit when they start to overheat, these things still have problems. The percentage of problems is still very low, but it is something to be aware of, and precautions should be taken. Most of the problems have been with faulty units(bad chargers or protection circuits, damaged cells from bad drops, punctures, manufacturing faults, or even a short circuit in the device that the battery is attached to), but sometimes people just get unlucky.
 @mine9 You do realize that, one these forums, logic and facts don't work.
 @lee986321 As much as those Macbooks cost, they should be functioning reliably, not having battery problems.
I hide a box of Avocados under my bed too!
Looking at hot porn?
 @Sundowner You get the Quepie doll! (or however that word is spelled!)
 @Jumpin' Jehosophat  @SundownerÂ
It's kewpie. Spelling police, over and out.
 @Jumpin' Jehosophat Attention:  Spelling police needed on Aisle 3 for Cupie, Quepie, Quuupeee, KuPee, Q'Pee.  OK, maybe I've had one too many espresso shots today.