DALLAS — A 13-year-old Texas girl was recently awoken by a smoldering Samsung cell phone under her pillow, according to KDFW.
Ariel Tolfree told KDFW she put her Samsung Galaxy S4 under her pillow when she fell asleep. Later that night, she smelled something burning.
“I didn’t think much of it, so I went back to sleep and then I woke up again and it was more prominent,” Tolfree told the station.
Tolfree’s dad believes the phone overheated, causing the battery to swell and ignite a small fire.
A spokesperson for Samsung told KDFW the battery inside the phone was a replacement unit -- not an original Samsung battery.
Samsung’s “COMMON PHONE” battery warning states:
A warning can also be found inside the phone’s manual which states covering the device with bedding or other material could restrict airflow and cause a fire:
“If anything, they should put a big warning on it, like a cigarette label, if that’s the case,” Thomas told KDFW.
Samsung said they take any instance of a battery fire “very seriously” and requested for the phone to be mailed to them for a full investigation. The company has offered to replace the phone, the bedding, the mattress and pillow.