Boy burned in PSP trouser blaze

A 12-year-old boy was yesterday treated in hospital for second-degree burns after his Sony PlayStation Portable apparently spontaneously combusted in his trouser pocket. Young Harold Clay was at school - Warner Middle in Farmington Hills, Michigan - when the incident took place. At 9am yesterday morning, the strides-stowed …

[GrahamT]

Why does the song...

..."Chestnuts roasting on an open fire" keep going around my head?

[Anonymous Coward]

Hardware pandora?

Do we happen to know if the kid happened to try out the hardware pandora hack which involves taking a stanley knife to the battery? Same thing happened to me when i tried that...

[Ben Schofield]

We've been here before

Wasn't it Sony batteries that were in the grenading Dell laptops? Never had a problem with my Panasonic powered XPS :)

[tranquil]

gosh

"The youngster was taken to hospital for treatment but was able to return to school later that day."

I'm not convinced I'd make it back to work the same day if my trousers went up in flames. Maybe I'm a wimp.

[Highlander]

Dare we say...

The PSP is HOT!

PSP declared hottest system!

Burnout Legends, be careful kids, it'll burn a hole in your pocket!

Penny burns hole in pocket, PSP dies in blaze?

etc....

All in bad taste I am sure, but this is a godsend to corny headline writers.

[Fogcat]

A Market Opportunity

Could this be a prototype test? I know a few teachers how would love a gadget that could ignite batteries in mobile phones, PSPs etc.

[George Johnson]

Yep

Judging by the photo, that's the battery compartment. Looks like either a dodgy cheap imported battery or badly wired Pandora battery gone wrong.

[Dave]

Knock off battery?

I wonder if the battery was an official Sony battery or some chinese knock-off, as is usually the case in instances such as this. If it is some cheap battery, the family will likely have no luck with Sony, whom the article reports they will be contacting, because it's not up to them what other brands do.

[Fiona]

He went back to school?

I'd expect at least the rest of the day off if I'd been in hospital being treated for burns. Hey, I'd be angling for the rest of the week off!

[Guy]

Type

I found it hard to tell from the photo - was it the slim & lite or the older kind of psp?

[Mark]

Boy heard to say

"Eff eff eff eff eff ef"

Scorchio!

Yup, the firesale coat for me...

[matt]

Re: Type

ohh dear...

The coats for you...

[Philip Bune]

PSP at School

Why did the little ### have a PSP at school in the first place.

[Murray-Mint]

Fat and Heavy

Definitely a PSP Fat and Heavy. Wouldn't be surprised if it was a cheap imported battery or a hardware modded Pandora battery.

[Anonymous Coward]

Sweat = SHORT(s) CIRCUIT

It's obvious (to me at least, the Anonymous Coward that I am) ... Sweat is salty, highly conductive water.... the kid was hiding the PSP in his pocket ... sweat got into the battery contacts (yes, 12-yr-olds do start to sweat like an adult, it's all part of the puberty thing), short circuit in the shorts, and that's all she wrote!

[JeffyPooh]

Is that a PSP in your pocket, ...

... or are you just happy to see me?

[Ryan]

Liar Liar

PANTS ON FIRE

[Red Bren]

@Murray Mint

I've got a "Fat & Heavy" PSP with its original battery which does get very warm during use. Is this a symptom of old age? The battery's, not mine!

[ratfox]

The lizard alliance strikes again!

If it was needed to show that Sony is on their side...

[Tim]

Liar Liar

Sure blame the PSP, my guess is he told his teacher that his dog ate his homework prior to his pants being on fire....

Mines the Armani ....honest....

[Jove]

A schoolboys Trouser Pockets

... reminds me of a sketch from the Clithero Kid.

[kain preacher]

terrorist plot

It's how AL queda plans to get the kids

[Anonymous Coward]

So that's who Dell sold all of those returned batteries to

Now we will not be able to take PSP's on airplanes either. Good thing the kid was playing games at school, it might have burnt his house down if it were left at home.

[Jean Stone]

Just great

If he was using a cheap battery his penny-pinching has come back to haunt him. If he was trying to use a Pandora battery for normal use purposes he was being stupid. If he was just unlucky Murphy's Law has that much more proof. If his mum starts a campaign to ban PSPs or the FAA decides they're now too dangerous to take on planes, I think I'm going to weep for humanity (again).

[Tris Orendorff]

Serious Burns.

How can you people be so insensitive? The boy, Harold Clay, was burned rather badly. In fact, it will be cheaper for lawyers to change his name to Carol Clay than it will for doctors to repair his burned bits.

[Sam]

It was a real Sony Battery...Not a 3rd party

Turns out the battery was the real-deal and not a knock-off. Another mistake by Sony....

[Stuart]

Pandora

Anyone still hardwiring a Pandora battery deserves to catch fire.

It's all about the software baby.

That is my coat....the one full of warez and psp apps.

[lardheppus]

Hindenburg

Will the next game for the PSP be a Hindenburg flight simulator?

[Anonymous Coward]

The boy stood on the burning deck...

His pockets full of crackers.

A spark went up his trouser leg.

A blew off both his kn.....

Mines the flame-proof over jacket with the deep pockets.