Dodgy camera battery starts fire ?

[Rhossydd]

"A family who fled for their lives from a fire that gutted their home are convinced the blaze was caused by a battery power pack bought on eBay"

"Photographer Andrew Firth bought what he thought was a genuine battery power pack and charger from a seller on eBay to use with his camera equipment. Investigations are ongoing as to whether the product was counterfeit."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55317414

Not good.

[Jeremy Roussak]

Yes, I saw that. It struck me that the evidence seems thin and the case against eBay, thinner. Maybe the forensic scientist instructed by Leigh Day will throw some light.

Jeremy

[Rhossydd]

The fire investigators should be able to work out what's likely to have caused the blaze, but then it'll get messy. Is there enough of the battery and charger to detect if it was genuine ? Would eBay be liable ? or the seller ? or the supplier's supplier ? or the manufacturer ? is any of them within UK jurisdiction ?

At the very least there'll be a big insurance excess to meet, or worse if the insurance company reduces or won't pay out if they think he's knowing used dodgy kit.

An object lesson in never leaving batteries to charge on or near flammable objects.

[degrub]

According to the article, his house insurance had lapsed. So his only option is to go after the seller/marketplace.

[Rhossydd]

According to the article, his house insurance had lapsed. So his only option is to go after the seller/marketplace.

Oh, I'd missed that line. A rather different story then.

[John Camp]

There was a recent report on a diving forum of a dive light that nearly caused a fire on an airplane. IIRC, the dive flashlight was sealed, but had a safety switch to keep the battery isolated when it wasn't needed. The diver, on his way home, checked his baggage. The TSA baggage people took the light out, turned it on (apparently to make sure it wasn't a bomb) and then didn't reset the safety switch. The battery, no longer isolated, caught fire. A lithium battery, I believe. This is a known problem with lithium batteries, and the batteries don't have to be counterfeit for this to happen, as far as I know.

[Rhossydd]

There continues to be speculation that the loss of MH370 was due to a problem with it's cargo of LiIon batteries.

When you see videos of how they catch fire it's pretty scary.