Another Stationary iPhone 6 Plus Catches On Fire

Smartphones have been around for ages, and the iPhone has been one of the top-tier smartphones ever since the first iPhone came out in 2007. But almost nine years after the first iPhone came out, going soon into the iPhone 7, Apple is still answering to a recurring consumer question: “Why does my iPhone suddenly burst into flames?”

Fox 5 Atlanta reported right before the new year came around that another iPhone—an iPhone 6 Plus, this time—burst into flames in an Atlanta neighborhood.

Hairdresser David Grimsley says he was at home when it happened, cozied up on his bed, when he just plugged his iPhone 6 Plus into its charger and it burst into flames. He tells Fox 5 that he just started charging his iPhone 6 Plus when he heard ringing—and it wasn’t his phone that’s ringing, but the smoke alarm.

“There were sparks and flames…The whole apartment could have burned down.”

The iPhone 6 Plus was charging on his bed when it caught on fire so Grimsley had to push it off the blankets, off the carpet, and into a hard surface to stop the fire from spreading. Grimsley got the iPhone 6 Plus to stop burning when he was able to push it onto a hard surface, but he burned his hand during the ordeal. His burned fingers, he shares, will be quite problematic for him since he’s a hairdresser.

Grimsley immediately called Apple to report the iPhone 6 Plus incident and was furnished a new iPhone 6 Plus. However, Grimsley was a bit disappointed by Apple’s response and adds that while Apple has supplied him a new iPhone 6 Plus, he’s still tiptoeing around the new iPhone knowing that the same incident could happen again.

“I thought they’d be more concerned, or check to see if I got burned or anything was damaged…I’m kind of nervous about plugging it in and leaving it on the bed or anywhere it could catch fire. It could happen again.”

Smartphone-users are not oblivious to the fact that phones should not be used when charging. People who used their phones to call or listen to music while charging have been reported to experience unfortunate incidents, but Grimsley’s case is a particularly unique one since he wasn’t using his iPhone 6 Plus when it was charging and caught on fire.

Just barely a month before Grimsley’s unfortunate iPhone 6 Plus incident, Cult of Mac already reported a similar iPhone fiasco, where a man’s iPhone caught on fire while safely tucked into his pants.

It was on the first week of December 2015 when another guy from Atlanta told local Channel Two Action News that he was forced to strip in public when his iPhone 6 Plus caught on fire on his jeans. Withholding his identity to the press, the guy shares the following.

“I mean, it was pretty humiliating having to take your pants off in a parking lot…When I saw the smoke, I undid my belt, I undid my pants. I pushed it away, turned my head hoping it wouldn’t explode. It burned pretty much my whole front pocket, burned my boxers, started to burn my leg, but I had moved it away in time so it wouldn’t burn me.”

In 2014, an iPhone 5 caused a bigger mishap on a plane bound to Prague, catching fire in a passenger’s bag, and in turn causing the flight to go back to the main terminal for passenger evacuation. The earlier iPhone 4 also did some damage to another owner, catching on fire during a USB transfer to their PC. The owner walked away from the incident with a fried iPhone 4 and a slightly burned hand.

These incidents are not unique to newer Apple products since older iPhones and other iDevices like iPads and iPods have been known to explode or catch fire even when they’re stationary or not charging.

Fox News reached out to Apple regarding Grimsley’s iPhone 6 Plus fiasco but was advised that the office for media inquiries was closed until Jan. 4.

[Featured photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images]