Man’s laptop battery explodes in home
PHOENIXVILLE >> A Phoenixville man is thankful to still have his home after he says the battery inside his laptop exploded, causing a fire to erupt in his kitchen.
Bob Domarasky of Columbia Avenue is warning everyone he knows about the lithium ion batteries inside HP laptops after he woke up to find his counter on fire while he had been charging his computer.
“Yesterday afternoon I laid down to take a nap and I heard three pops and I went out into the kitchen to find out what was going on,” said Domarasky. “I walked in to find my counter was on fire. I found out it was the lithium battery. I took it over to the sink and put that fire out. I lost a lot of medical paperwork and medicines and it left a lot of black soot and black smoke. It burned a hole right through my counter.”
Domarasky said he was shocked when he realized what had happened and was thankful that he had been home or he may have ended up without a house.
“I was the only one in the house. Thank God I was home or I wouldn’t
have a home or my animals as well,” he said.
Domarasky said purchased his Compaq Presario laptop in August 2015 from a local Walmart. It wasn’t until after the explosion that Domarasky did some research and found out that batteries had been recalled by Hewlett-Packard last year for fire and burn hazards.
The company has now issued a phone number for people to call if they are affected by the recall.
“I did a little research and found out HP recalled
41,000 batteries and now 101,000 were now recalled in January. I called Compaq and they sent me to the claims department. And when they heard it was a fire, they said they would cover the laptop and any damages due to the fire,” he said.
Hewlett Packard said in its recall statement that “the affected batteries were shipped with specific HP, Compaq, HP ProBook, HP ENVY, Compaq Presario, and HP Pavilion Notebook Computers sold worldwide from March 2013 through October 2016, and/or were sold as accessories or spares, or provided as replacements through Support.”
They additionally urged customers to discontinue use of affected batteries immediately.
Domarasky said he never received any notification by mail or email of the recall and expressed frustration at having to find out the way he did.
“You never think things can happen to you until it really does. When it happened I couldn’t react fast enough,” Domarasky said. “I would make sure that you get the number off your battery and call that 800 number because it could save your house.”
Those affected by the battery recall can contact HP’s safety recall support line by calling 1-888-202-4320.