Not All Phone Chargers are Created Equally

The cause of a fire that left a West Hartford home damaged on Valentine's Day is "undetermined", but the town's fire marshal believes it may have to do with the compatibility between a cell phone and the charger it was plugged into.

In the aftermath of Lillia Brown’s home catching on fire, she told NBC Connecticut she’s just happy to be alive.

"Guess what, we (are) all okay," Brown said. "And we are together. That’s the greatest."

Firefighters saw the device plugged in and sitting on top of the bed that they believe started the fire. Officials said because the charger was not designed specifically for that phone, it may have overheated.

A fire that happened in Southington over Easter weekend appeared to have similiar elements; officials there believe a phone, plugged into a tablet charger, sparked the flame.

Both of those incidents haunt Wethersfield’s Kim Joanis, because she knows she could’ve been next.

Her charger and iPhone 5 were plugged into an outlet right next to her 5-year-old grandson’s bed. As she was on her way out the door for the day, she realized she almost left the phone plugged in.

"Thank god I needed it," Joanis said. "Thank god I needed to plug the charger into my car because I never would’ve gone into my grandson Mason’s room."

As soon as she walked into her grandson's room, she said, she smelled burning.

"I smelled something burning, and it burned my hand right here to a bubble," Joanis said. "And I pulled out the plug and it was melted."

The charger’s manufacturer, Belkin, told NBC Connecticut product safety is the company’s first priority, offered Joanis a replacement charger and asked that she send hers to their labs so they can analyze the problem.

As she waits for the results, tech expert Liron Segev points to a possible contributing factor for both of the fires and Joanis’ close call: Amperage, or the strength of the current.

"There's a difference between the tablet one and the phone one," Segev said. "But the problem is they look the same."

That’s true for any phone maker.

Apple, for example, the standard iPad chargers use 2.1 amps, as do many aftermarket iPhone chargers, including Joanis’.

But the standard iPhone charger, made by Apple, uses just one amp.

Segev said it’s generally not great for a battery to take in a different current than what it's used to because it forces the battery to work extra hard.

The different current, combined with other hazards like letting phones charge on the bed or the couch, where heat can’t escape, makes an even more dangerous scenario.

"I wouldn’t go running around the house unplugging everything," Segev said. "What I would do is look at each of the chargers. Look at them individually."

Understanding where the charger comes from, whether it has third party certifications like a 'Made for iPhone' or Underwriter's Labs logo, and evaluating the chargers condition are all best practices, according to Segev.

"Read that minute, microscopic etching that are actually on the charger itself," Segev said. "A charger isn’t just a charger. You need to get the right one for your phone."

The amperage will vary, but regardless of what kind of phone someone has, Segev suggests knowing what kind of current it’s supposed to take in by looking at the charger it comes with and sticking with that amperage.

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