iPhone Batteries Cause Fire Scare Two Days In A Row, More To Come

It seems Apple’s battery issues are only going to get worse. While the company is facing class-action lawsuits and criminal probes for slowing down older iPhones, there are also cases of batteries causing fire scares. The incidents occurred in two different locations, but they were severe enough to cause firefighters to respond.

The first incident occurred in Zurich, Switzerland where an iPhone battery overheated and caused injury to a technician, Reuters reports. The unit apparently started emitting smoke while the repair person handling it tried to remove the battery from the phone, which led to 50 people being evacuated from the building.

“The staff responded well and correctly. It sprinkled quartz sand over the overheated battery so that the smoke could be contained and sucked out after switching on the ventilation,” Zurich police said on the matter.

Even with the swift response, seven people still needed treatment for the incident, though, none of them needed hospitalization. As of writing, the matter is still under investigation and Apple has made no comments.

The second incident occurred at the Calle Colón Store, in Valencia, Spain. According to a report by the local publication Las Provincias, an iPhone battery exploded around 1.30 p.m. local time, which caused firefighters to respond.

“According to municipal sources, the outbreak flooded the upper floor with smoke. The firefighters did not intervene because store employees opened the windows quickly to ventilate the establishment. The workers threw dirt on the burned battery and vacated the premises without incidents,” the publication wrote.

At this point, the two consecutive cases are considered to be a coincidence brought on by the increased number of battery replacements. Unfortunately, with more and more people bringing their older iPhones to Apple shops to have the batteries replaced, it’s expected that incidents of batteries catching fire will only increase.