TE
TechEcho
Home24h TopNewestBestAskShowJobs
GitHubTwitter
Home

TechEcho

A tech news platform built with Next.js, providing global tech news and discussions.

GitHubTwitter

Home

HomeNewestBestAskShowJobs

Resources

HackerNews APIOriginal HackerNewsNext.js

© 2025 TechEcho. All rights reserved.

Do you worry about your gadgets catching fire? (Mine did.)

2 pointsby rrosen326almost 6 years ago
Last night we had a scare. Our house filled with smoke and we couldn&#x27;t find the source. Eventually we tracked it down to a pair of headphones: https:&#x2F;&#x2F;ibb.co&#x2F;N1L9zB2<p>Question: Do HNers protect against this? How? Buy only expensive gadgets? Buy only expensive cables? I don&#x27;t know what caused this or how to reasonably prevent it. But if we hadn&#x27;t been home, or awake, our house might have gone up in flames.<p>(My fire alarms also failed, which is a whole other troubling issue.)

2 comments

chmielewskialmost 6 years ago
I was once at TJ Maxx looking for a lightning charging cable. Rather than no-name, I went with a braided nylon Duracell cable. After a week of light use, the part of the cable near the lightning head that is usually known for structural fraying developed a small red ember when plugged in and you could see smoke rising from the cable jacket (melting fabric). I emailed Duracell twice about this through two separate support channels and never heard back from them.
howard941almost 6 years ago
Glad you&#x27;re ok. Search for fire resistant charging bags and try to use it. They&#x27;re inconvenient but your photo will encourage me to get back into the habit for a while. The drone guys go through this all the time.<p>Also: Purchase UL listed products. Install photoelectric and ionization fire alarms and a CO alarm.