A man lost his life, due to the fire caused by the overheating of an iPhone 5 battery, plugged in to charge overnight.
A 53 year old man, named Marek Kruger in UK was bed bound due to a brain tumor, two years before his death.
He lost his breath from smoke inhalation at his home in Reading in August, last year.
The issue has now come out, after a threatening turn took place in Kruger’s death. Reportedly, he would often keep his mobile phone by his side, and used to charge it. He even used an extension lead to make it more accessible.
Due to his illness, he was confined to his electric bed, as he had lost all feeling down the left side of his body. Through his iPhone, he regularly used to do online shopping from the bed itself.
Kruger's wife, Iryna Kruger stated how her husband, who had been taking paracetamol and ibuprofen, had been in an accident and was reliant on carers and on his electronic bed.
“He had a brain tumour and lost a lot of weight and was in huge pain,” her statement read.
Kruger’s toxicology report did not reveal any traces of alcohol in his system. However, some morphine was observed, which Kruger had asked for, after experiencing severe pain.
Pathologist Dr Fawaz Musa’s report revealed that, Kruger had suffered 64 per cent burns, including first degree burns to his face and upper chest. Soot was found in his larynx and trachea.
Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service employed Jonathan Fuguet of Bureau Veritas Laboratories to investigate the case. Upon the investigation, they confirmed that, the overheating of the iPhone battery had caused the fire, because the device was on the bed covers, and the heat was unable to circulate freely.
“It is like putting it into a fire, but much slower,” Fuguet said.
Ravi Sidhu, assistant coroner for Berkshire, recorded a narrative verdict and said, “The main cause of Mr Kruger's death was smoke inhalation.”
“He would not have known much about what was going on around him. He had been overcome by the effects of smoke from a fire caused by the battery of the phone which had been covered by bed coverings,” Ravi said.
By Phani Ch
