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Shocking reason child's car seat spontaneously erupted in flames moments after family had all left the mini van
A child's car seat spontaneously erupted into flames moments after a family had all left the mini van and gone inside their home.
The fire had been noticed by a neighbor who spotted smoke coming from the mini van after the family had returned home from church in North Carolina on Sunday.
A family member used a garden hose to put the flames out. No one was in the car at the time and there were no injuries.
But pictures from the scene showed how the fire had completely melted through the child's plastic seat and the leather car seat.
Investigators have now revealed they believe the shocking reason for the sudden fire was due to the small battery inside the child's book overheating.
A child's car seat spontaneously erupted into flames moments after the family had all gone inside their home after returning home from church in North Carolina on Sunday
Pictures from the scene showed how the fire had completely melted through the plastic child's seat and the leather car seat
The fire department determined it was 'Button Battery' inside a book that had been underneath the seat which caused the fire
The George Hildebran Fire & Rescue Department arrived at the scene and determined it was 'Button Battery' inside the book that had been underneath the seat which caused the fire.
Fire Chief Bobby Craig told news source WSOC: 'The world itself is moving to lithium batteries, which propose some of these troubles to the fire service.
'I don't know if there is - other than trying to keep them cool - that there is any precautions.'
The fire department has decided to keep the safety seat for training purposes to show the danger of batteries.
But the books publisher Cottage Door Press has issued a statement saying the book does not have a lithium battery but instead uses an alkaline battery.
The company said: 'Our electronic children’s books, which have sold millions of units without incident, use alkaline batteries, not lithium ion batteries as reported.
'We are relieved that no one was injured, and are working closely with local officials and experts to determine the cause of this incident.'
Alkaline batteries have a good safety record and can be carried on an aircraft without subject to UN Transport and other regulations.
A family member used a garden hose to put the flames out, but not before the seat was reduced to a smoldering ruin
No one was in the car at the time and there were no injuries
Meanwhile lithium-ion batteries, particularly poor-quality ones, are susceptible to uncontrolled thermal runaway events, which occur when the temperature in lithium-ion batteries increases faster than the energy can be dispersed to its surroundings.
The high temperature causes the battery to decompose, creating more heat and ultimately leading to an explosion of flammable gas.
They are found in many household products, including mobile phones, laptops, tablets, e-scooters, e-bikes and power tools.
The recent rise in the use of lithium-ion batteries has caused havoc for a number of industries, including waste companies, with rubbish and recycling trucks sparking fires when crushing wrongly disposed-of batteries.
A number of social media users posted expressing their alarm at the close call in North Carolina.
Kevin Stamey wrote: 'Thats scary folks. You know how many childrens toys and such have those batteries in them? Think about it.'
Vickie Smith said: 'That's scary! So many kids toys and books have batteries. I'm so glad the child wasn't injured.'
Faith Vankley commented: 'Thank God the child wasn't burned; that needs to be looked into! Yikes!'