Samsung Phone Overheats, Catches Fire In Florida Man's Hand

A South Florida man’s cell phone overheated and burst into flames while he was walking along a canal recently.

Speaking with NBC 6, Jonathan Wright said his Samsung Galaxy S5 phone, which was not included in the company’s 2016 recall, caught fire suddenly after overheating.

"It started to get very, very hot. I switched hands so I didn't drop it in the canal and it burst into flames. I dropped it on the ground and there was nothing I could do but just watch it burn," Wright said.

Wright added he got the battery changed in 2018 after facing charging issues and the phone was working well till it caught fire. He also considers himself lucky as he escaped with minor burns in his arm.

"You think it’s just a normal device, but this thing could hurt somebody," he said.

Speaking to NBC 6, Wright’s attorney Chris Mancini said, "The phones are still out there, the batteries are still out there, people are still walking around with these things not having any clue that it could blow up in their hands literally explode.”

A representative for Samsung issued a statement saying, "Samsung takes customer safety very seriously and we stand behind the quality of the millions of Galaxy devices in use in the United States. We have reached out to inspect Mr. Wright’s device and learn more about what happened. Until Samsung thoroughly examines any device, it is impossible to determine the true cause of any incident.”

Wright hopes the company looks into the matter quickly as “it could be deadly.”

In 2016, Samsung asked users to stop using the Galaxy Note 7 phones after several reports of the phone’s battery overheating and catching fire.

Wright was not the only user whose Samsung phone, that was not included in the recall, caught fire recently. Several users of Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy Note 4 phones reported their phone overheating.

"A puffing sound woke me up to a surreal view of a burning fire by the side of my bed,” a user complained on the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s website. Another customer witnessed the "phone smoking from the point at which the charger plugs into the phone.”

In a similar incident in June 2018, a Detroit woman claimed her Samsung phone burst into flames while she was driving. The woman was forced to get out of the car after it was engulfed in flames. Her two smartphones — a Galaxy S4 and a Galaxy S8 — were in the car’s cup-holder, Newsweek reported.

“Out of the corner of my eye I saw a spark. I thought I was going to die when I saw the sparks and the fire. It happened quick. It just went up in flames. People were telling me to get away from the car. What if I was on the highway stuck in traffic and couldn’t get out?” the woman said.