The New York Police Department (NYPD) has warned people against sleeping with cell phones under their pillows, after a series of incidents where fires have occurred as a result.
Officers tweeted four pictures of pillows that have had holes burned in them after the cell phone underneath overheated and set them alight.
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(Twitter Photo: @NYPD33Pct)
Fire chiefs have also earlier warned that leaving a charging phone between a pillow and a mattress can cause batteries to overheat and possibly catch fire or explode.
(Twitter Photo: @NYPD33Pct)
In an interview with NBC, David Berardesca, fire chief from Hamden, Connecticut said, "The cell phone was left on the bed. These devices need areas to be ventilated.
"It is recommended that you leave these type of devices on a hard surface so the heat can dissipate. The batteries heat up, they could melt, in some cases, explode, and cause a fire."
He was speaking after an incident occurred where a 15-year-old's bed burst into flames after a charging cell phone caught fire, resulting in his home being evacuated at around 4am.
(Twitter Photo: @NYPD33Pct)
In a separate incident, 13-year old Ariel Tolfree, from Texas, escaped major burns after her bed set on fire because of a Samsung S4 phone she left charging underneath her pillow.
(Twitter Photo: @NYPD33Pct)
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