Phone charger sparks Beverly house fire; kitchen goes up in flames - WCVB Boston

A couple in Beverly got quite the scare when a cellphone charger almost caused their home of 48 years to burn down in the middle of the night.Joe Vaccaro and his wife left their phones charging in the kitchen before they went up to bed, just like they do every night.For some reason, the charger and the wall socket caught fire and caused the kitchen to go up in flames."She woke up because she heard the alarm, and she ran upstairs and grabbed me and said, 'The house is on fire!'" Vaccaro said.The Beverly Fire Department said it was called out to the home on Ellingwood Court just before 3 a.m. Sunday.Firefighters said the kitchen fire was partially extinguished by the time they got there. That's because Vaccaro had a new fire extinguisher handy, thanks to his daughter."(She) just gave me that for Christmas. Isn't that ironic?" Vaccaro said.The Massachusetts Department of Fire Services recommends that people not overcharge devices or leave charging devices unattended for a long time, avoid using aftermarket chargers, avoid putting charging devices on combustible surfaces such as beds or pillows and not charge devices in extremely hot temperatures.The Vaccaros' kitchen is badly damaged, but the rest of their house only has smoke damage. They are staying at a hotel while their insurance company helps to repair the damage.Firefighters are investigating what caused the phone charger to catch fire.

BEVERLY, Mass. —

A couple in Beverly got quite the scare when a cellphone charger almost caused their home of 48 years to burn down in the middle of the night.

Joe Vaccaro and his wife left their phones charging in the kitchen before they went up to bed, just like they do every night.

For some reason, the charger and the wall socket caught fire and caused the kitchen to go up in flames.

"She woke up because she heard the alarm, and she ran upstairs and grabbed me and said, 'The house is on fire!'" Vaccaro said.

The Beverly Fire Department said it was called out to the home on Ellingwood Court just before 3 a.m. Sunday.

Firefighters said the kitchen fire was partially extinguished by the time they got there. That's because Vaccaro had a new fire extinguisher handy, thanks to his daughter.

"(She) just gave me that for Christmas. Isn't that ironic?" Vaccaro said.

The Massachusetts Department of Fire Services recommends that people not overcharge devices or leave charging devices unattended for a long time, avoid using aftermarket chargers, avoid putting charging devices on combustible surfaces such as beds or pillows and not charge devices in extremely hot temperatures.

The Vaccaros' kitchen is badly damaged, but the rest of their house only has smoke damage. They are staying at a hotel while their insurance company helps to repair the damage.

Firefighters are investigating what caused the phone charger to catch fire.

2020-02-02 23:23:00Z
https://www.wcvb.com/article/phone-charger-sparks-beverly-house-fire-kitchen-goes-up-in-flames-phone-fried/30743299