Child suffers burns from tablet charger
By Darryl Forges
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JENA, Louisiana (WDSU) — Lauren Morrow woke up to a nightmare. Her child screaming for help in her Jena, Louisiana home.
Her nine year old son Ashtyn was asleep when his necklace got entangled with his tablet charger, sparked, and caught fire.
“It was like this loud bang, and then I woke up, and then I started shaking, and I was screaming help, and then I started to stop shaking after a while, and me and my brother ran to the room and we were saying help”, said Ashtyn Pitts.
Pitts suffered burns to his neck and hand. His mom and dad took him to the emergency room. They were later transported to the LSU-Oschner Burn Unit in Shreveport.
“I lost it, I started crying, but I didn’t want to see it, so I left out the room, so yeah, hit me hard, because in all reality, we could be planning a funeral right now”, said Morrow.
This happens a lot across the country. Several studies show a large number of people, and kids, sleep with their phones or tablets charged under their pillow, or somewhere in their bed.
The National Fire Protection Association recommends:
Don’t charge your devices under a pillow, on your bed, on a couch, or in a location that’s exposed to direct sunlight.
Only use the battery and charging cord that’s designed for your specific device.
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