Man claims his Galaxy Note7 had set his Jeep on fire

Last Friday, Samsung had announced a global recall for its Galaxy Note7 due to safety concerns with its battery. Unfortunately, for one guy in the US, he didn’t get the memo and his Galaxy Note7 had allegedly exploded while left charging in his Jeep Grand Cherokee.

In a report by FOX 13 news, the family had just returned from a yard sale. Nathan Dornancher then left his Galaxy Note7 charging on the centre console while unloading their stuff from the vehicle. After dropping their daughter and family dog at home, he then noticed that his Jeep was on fire.

The local fire department had put out the fire but his vehicle was already severely damaged. According to Nathan, he has done a lot of modifications to his Jeep and he was surprised that his four-day old Note7 could cause so much damage. It could have been worse and he was lucky that his family and home were safe. He said that he had converted from Apple to Samsung since the first Note was out.

According to FOX 13 news, Samsung had also released a statement as follows:

“We are aware of the incident and we are working with Mr. Dornacher to investigate his case and ensure we do everything we can for him. Consumer safety is Samsung’s highest priority. With regard to the Galaxy Note7, we are asking owners to take advantage of the Product Exchange Program announced on Friday of last week. The program offers Note7 owners the opportunity to exchange the phone for a new one. More details on the program can be found at http://www.samsung.com/us/note7exchange/.”

Assuming he purchased his Galaxy Note7 four-days ago, it is quite surprising he could get one since Samsung had officially halted all sales of the phone 7 days ago. When Samsung made the recall announcement, they had reported a total of 35 incidents as of 1st September. Since then, there were still new incidents related to the Note7’s battery. For extra precaution, several Australian airlines had prohibited the use and charging of the Galaxy Note7 but customers may still be allowed to carry them on board when switched off.

For Malaysia, Samsung had announced a one to one exchange program which will start on 29th September. There are no advisories on what to do during the waiting period but we would recommend not to charge your phone unattended until you received your new unit. If you purchased a Galaxy Note7 in Malaysia, we suggest that you take full advantage of the replacement exercise.

[ SOURCE, VIA ]