Maine student gets second-degree burns after iPhone catches fire

A principal of a Maine middle school said a student suffered second-degree burns when her green iPhone 5c burst into flames while in her pocket.

Class was just about to start when the incident occurred, and the student was taken to a nearby hospital.

The school did not release the girl’s name. However, in an interview with the Portland Press Herald, the girl’s mother, Judy Milligan said, “I was a little bit in shock” after being told about the fire.

According to the Press Herald, the girl, 14, was sitting down before class when she heard a “pop from the Apple iPhone 5c she had been given by her mother two months earlier.”

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“Immediately, smoke starts billowing from around the student,” said Jeff Rodman, principal of the Middle School of the Kennebunks, told the Press Herald. “She knew right away something was wrong and, in a panic, knew her pants were on fire caused by the cellphone.”

The girl was released from the hospital after 45 minutes. The newspaper published a photo of the phone that was taken by an investigator with the state Fire Marshal’s Office.

The iPhone uses a lithium-ion type rechargeable battery built inside. Occasionally, phones can heat up after extended use. And there have been other reported cases of iPhones catching fire, though these rare instances typically have occurred when the phone is charging.

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