14 DAY TRIAL // A phone that caught fire all of a sudden at the Mayde Creek Junior High caused the full evacuation of the building, with a total of 10 students hospitalized for smoke inhalation.
While the brand and the model of the phone that caused the smoke were not disclosed, some describe the incident as a “phone battery explosion,” which may have been triggered by students.
“Some kids were like, smashing their phones and they had like, a battery pack. And then they like, smashed it and it exploded…and they got like, asthma attacks,” a seventh-grader was quoted as saying by Houston Chronicle. But according to the fire department, there is no evidence that someone caused the explosion on purpose.
School evacuated
A total of 10 students were hospitalized due to smoke inhalation, but no one suffered serious injuries so they were discharged the same day. On the other hand, Houston Chronicle quotes Lt. Joe Driver of the Westlake Volunteer Fire Department as saying that reports originally indicated that 12 students suffered “injuries to their hands, arms and faces [and] all are expected to recover.”
“There was smoke everywhere. People were jumping on tables, yelling, laughing screaming,” one student told KPRC 2.
The school and the cafeteria were both evacuated, the police said.
“There were some students that were distressed because of the situation. Those students were taken to our nurse’s office and those that suffered from smoke inhalation were transported by our EMS units,” Katy Independent School District spokeswoman Maria DiPetta was quoted as saying by Click2Houston.
Phone batteries continue to present a huge risk of fire, especially when tampered with, so taking them apart is certainly not recommended.
Back in 2016, Samsung was forced to retire the entire Galaxy Note 7 lineup of phones after discovering battery issues that caused some units to catch fire, even when not charging.