A mum has issued a warning after her son's portable charger exploded in his bed, leaving him with second degree burns across his arm and back.
Writing on Facebook about the horrific ordeal, Shari Pingree, 42, from California explained: "This is a big warning for all you parents out there. Please share this with your children family and friends.
"My son Cole Pingree fell asleep with his cell phone underneath him in bed on a charging pack. Around three am it exploded and he was hurt and the bed had caught fire.
Advert
"Lucky Colton will be ok. It could have been really bad if it wasn't for his quick reaction. I myself always fall asleep with my phone on my bed. I won't anymore."
Colton, aged 15, had fallen asleep charging his battery pack, but woke up when the exploding device knocked him out of his bed, which had also set alight.
Thanks to his quick thinking, he managed to extinguish the flames with his bare hands, and threw the device in the toilet.
However, the traumatic ordeal has left the teenager with second degree burns across his back and left arm which have 'melted' a layer of his skin, caused large bubbling blisters and exposed tissue.
Advert
Colton said: "I was charging my charging pack so I could have it for school the next day - it was laying on my bed right next to one of my pillows and I was rolled over with my back on it.
"At about 2:30am I woke up laying on my floor really confused - I felt a really strong pain in my back, my arm burnt a little bit and it just smelt really weird
"I looked up and both of my comforters and one of my pillows was on fire - the fire was probably about 4inches long and 5inches wide and [the explosion] literally pushed me off the bed.
Advert
"My immediate reaction was that I woke up in a panic - I stood up and started grabbing the fire with my bare hands and rolling it out.
"After I got the flames out I grabbed a water bottle I had by my bed and I had a small pocket knife besides me so I poked a hole at the top of the cap and started spraying the spots that were still smoldering and red."
After chucking the charger pack in the toilet, Colton headed to his dad Andrew's bedroom to alert him.
Advert
Andrew said: "Colton woke me up in a panic and said he 'had got the fire out' - it startled me and then he said he 'was ok' and that he was 'hurt really bad.
"His back and arm was really badly burnt and it looked like a really bad sunburn so we didn't go to the hospital at that point in time - I waited until the following morning and then we took him."
Colton explained that over the following days, the pain from his injuries became progressively worse, as the adrenaline started to wear off.
"At first it hurt really bad, but I was more focused on getting the fire out because I have a handicapped uncle in the house and I didn't want anything to get really really bad," he said.
Advert
"After I had time to calm down I didn't get any sleep for the rest of the night because it started hurting extremely badly.
"When we first went to the doctor he actually thought it was a big bruise with red burns and had me put a patch over it, and later that day I peeled it off so we could put a new one on.
"I realised that a patch of skin came off that piece of tape and I was like 'ok that's not a bruise at all'."
Colton explained he had bought the charger online and it was supposed to be charged for 24 hours - but blew up after three to four.
"Don't keep charging packs with you when you're sleeping - just have them away from you and somewhere that's not easy to catch on fire," warned Colton.
"I'll also put my phone off the side of my bed - it could cause another thing like that to happen again.
"I suggest that others don't sleep with them either as it could happen to anyone - I never expected that."
This is a warning to everyone...
Featured Image Credit: Kennedy News and Media