iPhone 6 Catches Fire In Man’s Pocket, Causes Second-Degree Burns

A man in Phoenix, Arizona suffered second-degree burns on his leg after his iPhone 6 bent in his pocket and burst into flames. Phillip Lechter was in Tucson for the University of Arizona football game on October 11th when the incident occurred. According to a report from Fox 10 Phoenix, Lechter was riding on a rickshaw bike when the cart almost tipped over. Lechter was able to stabilize himself in the ride but his pocket containing his hot new iPhone 6 was smashed against the railing. Lechter says he felt a burning sensation on his thigh and quickly pulled out his iPhone to find it burning. Lechter explains what happened next.

“As the rickshaw tipped, I stepped out like this, and it drove the Apple phone into the bar of the rickshaw… luckily we weren’t injured at all, it was just one of those weird sensations like a roller coaster ride until I realized my pants were on fire.”

“The flames were coming out of the pocket the smoke was coming out of here… it did burn me as I pulled it out.”

He tossed the iPhone into the street and a passerby poured ice water on it, which reportedly caused the iPhone 6 to audibly sizzle. Lechter had a hole burned clear through his denim pants and the burn left a 2nd degree burn on his thigh, which needed treatment from a doctor.

Lechter returned the melted iPhone 6 to his local Apple store and they took the phone and replaced it with a new one. Lechter was never given the dangerous phone back and, according to the report, the Apple Genius told him it would be locked in a safe until an internal investigation from Apple could be initiated. Lechter has yet to hear back from anybody at Apple and his leg is still blistered and healing from the burn.

The iPhone 6’s launch has not been clear of controversy. First there was “bendgate,” in which customers complained that the iPhone 6 Plus would bend when placed in the pocket of tight pants, as explained previously by The Inquisitr, and there were myriad videos showing users forcibly bending their thin phones under certain amount of pressure. Then came “hairgate” when, as reported by The Business Insider, a user’s hair got caught in the phone and was ripped out. As of today, there have been no other reports of the iPhone 6 suddenly bursting into flame and Apple has yet to respond to the complaint with anything other than a replacement phone, which was under warranty anyway. Lechter says he has no plans to sue Apple, but would like his medical bills covered.

Do you have an iPhone 6? Have you encountered hotter than usual circumstances, or worse, burns from the iPhone 6 bursting into flame?

[Images courtesy of Phillip Lechter and Fox 10 Phoenix]