Fire in Univeristy room, possible cause Lenovo NetBook? Help Please

ad0m

ad0m

ad0m

Associate
Joined
13 Jan 2007
Posts
55
Location
Dublin, Ireland
Hi guys,

A week ago I was out at ASDA doing uni shopping, I got a call on my mobile from campus security saying my room went on fire and my laptop caused the fire.

as I arrived I opened my uni room door to this

4456_183305375514_584040514_7021829_8118791_n.jpg


4456_183305360514_584040514_7021827_6710506_n.jpg


It seemed ovbious that the fire was caused by my laptop, So I called Lenovo who came and collected the laptop for inspection to prove it was my Netbook

NB! The Netbook still switched on, but I was to nerveous to plug the power in to the wall, so left it to LENOVO to try out.

this is what the netbook battrey looked like after the fire:

4456_183305365514_584040514_7021828_7539496_n.jpg


Lenovo came back with this report:

Summary
• Battery Returned with S10e Computer
• Melted Plastic found on battery pack, back side of LCD display, corner
of the system
• RSOC =0% when received (fully discharged)
• Battery status,
–
Battery has no error
–
Battery can be charged
–
Battery powers up S10e
–
Battery has normal capacity(101% of Design Capacity) and normal
Temperature
Click to expand...

gviewu.png


gview2.png


Conclusion
• Based on above findings, battery still in working condition
• The battery cell’s wrap/tape still in good condition which indicates the
melted plastic was caused by external heat
• Therefore the battery didn’t cause the fire
Click to expand...

But it makes no sense, as there was nothing in the room next to the laptop that could have caused a fire except for there was a red lighter ,however it was about 50cm away from the laptop and was now melted in a blob, but my understanding of lighters is that would have probably not of been the cause.

the other thing that occured to me if this was not the case the lighter was ontop of the netbook and maybe caught on fire some how or exploded, but the fire from a small lighter does not seem enough to have that such damage to the plastic that is if you look closley melting away from the battrey pack in an attempt to escape the heat, (from the battrey pack) and it was not melting into the powerpack (for if a fire started on top of it)

My laptop was sitting ontop of books, and files, but the fire looks as if it originated in the middle of my books, and no out side fire (e.g the lighter 50cm away) surrounding the books.


Lenovo are now refusing to replce my Netbook or anything that burn down in the room.



bad times it was all my study notes for my exams this year :(


any help would be greatly apreaciated
 
Sorry to hear that - absolute nightmare!

Did the Fire Brigade come out to put the fire out? Clutching at straws but if they did maybe they have a report of how they think the fire started. Maybe even ask a fireman to have a look, they can usually tell where and how a fire started.

Could you show where the laptop was sitting when you left the room?

Looking at the photos of the back of the laptop it does look like an external source/excessive heat somewhere between the back of the laptop and the wall.

Edit: just looking at the pics, do you have those little tea candle or jelly candle things dotted about your room?
 
Last edited:
It's doesn't look like the battery itself caused the fire, possibly it got hot and ignited some paper around it or on top of it? The burnt marks on top suggest something was on it.

Would guess the lighter made the fire worse if it wasn't the cause, maybe it leaked (depending on what type).

But, looking at the pic, it looks like an external fire caused the melting. (But I'm not a fire investigator, but have lit a few fires(not arson^_^))

But from Lenovo's POV it doesn't look like it's a faulty battery that's cause the fire.
 
What course are you doing at university? Maybe you picked up a chemical or something on your paper from a lab and the heat from you notebook reacted and caused the fire?

What did your universities hall of residence say?
 
shoot1st said:
Looking at the photos of the back of the laptop it does look like an external source/excessive heat somewhere between the back of the laptop and the wall.
Click to expand...
I'm no expert but I'd agree with this. The heat looks to have come from the outside not the inside.

Lenovo are also no fools - I don't think they would lie about something like this intentionally and they are obviously experts at diagnosing battery fires so I'd be inclined to agree with them unless there's any other evidence.

If the battery is still working fine electronically then it can't have malfunctioned to cause the fire can it?
 
Last edited:
Open curtains and lighter left in direct sunlight perhaps? Whatever it was it doesn't appear to have been caused by the netbook.
 
Agree with all of the above the damage to the netbook looks external not internal and i would say it was not the battery that caused it. Hope you can recover all your coursework stuff in time for you to do your exams.
 
What did they use to extinguish the fire.
The entire area looks incredibly clean for a firesite.
Its as if something burned in a small specific area and thankfully didn't spread.

Did a smoke alarm trip, they entered your room and tackled the blaze immediately?
 
Was the lighter on the same desk as the laptop - IE beside the monitor in easy reach for smoking while working/surfing?

If it was, and was in direct sunlight, then the pressure build up could have popped a seal, causing the lighter to shoot across the desk ****ing pressurised butane out after it, parking up against teh wall behind the laptop. One stray flame [what appears to be a tea-lamp candle on the shelf above, small spark from PSU/battery, etc] and foom, one small, localised fire.

Doesn't explain the localised melting of the plastic casing though - unless by some freak chance the hole in the lighter sprayed out butane between the laptop battery and body, causing a buildup of gas in a confined, locally hot area - possibly hot enough to cause [semi] spontaneous combustion?

If the lighter was just *found* 50cm away you may have left the lighter beside a heat vent on the laptop [or in direct sunlight] without realising, which could have caused similar things to happen - pressure builds up, lighter seals give up the ghost, butane gets ****ed out, foom. the lighter popping [or pushing itself under the pressure of the butane] may explain why it's 50cm away, and any unpressurised butane left in it would be enough to melt it.

That's a vey unlikely series of coincidences though, but it's the only way I can see that happening and causing that sort of damage. Of course, if the lighter was on a different desk, or lower than the desk the laptop was on, then it's out of the question really....
 
If the fire was caused by the laptop batteries... there should be some damage done on the internal cells. The picture also "look" like an external fire.
 
Definitely doesn't look like it was the battery that caught fire or I would imagine far more internal damage but the netbook still works as does the battery so I would guess something behind the netbook was the cause.
Maybe the power supply? Doubtful but these are known to 'explode' (cheap models anyway)
 
A Li/Ion - Polymer battery fire is something to behold, your battery would be completely destroyed and the chances are so would most of your room.
 
Sorry to hear about that mate :(

This kind of thing happened to one of the Grads where I work.

He had left his laptop in the car boot - he normally wouldn't have done so but he was going away to visit parents after his shift and takes his computer with him (The lappy would normally have been left in his house on a normal day)

He got back to the car after his shift and the battery had exploded and melted everything in the vicinity. The only saving grace is that the boot had very little oxygen to help the fire along so it eventually put itself out :eek:

Not good!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom