Minivan Fire Blamed on a Kids' Book

North Carolina think 'button' with lithium battery caught fire in the heat
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Aug 29, 2024 12:20 PM CDT
Culprit in Minivan Fire: A Children's Book
The charred remains of a car seat sit inside a vehicle in Burke County, NC, on Sunday, Aug. 25, 2024, after it caught fire.   (George Hildebran Fire & Rescue Department via AP)

North Carolina officials say the cause of a fire inside a minivan in Burke County was a children's book. A child's car seat was set ablaze when a "button battery" in a children's book caught fire after being left in the vehicle on Sunday, according to the George Hildebran Fire & Rescue Department. The family had left the car before the fire started, officials said. Destiny Williams and her daughter, Misty, had come home from church that day and went inside the house, Williams told WSOC. About 20 minutes later, she began to notice smoke from the car.

A neighbor eventually put the fire out with a garden hose, WSOC reported. After the fire was put out, the fire marshal's office was called to the scene, authorities said. "My initial thought about it is: 'What if it did happen?' Because I would be without a daughter and a wife if it did happen (with them in the car)," the girl's father, Pressley Williams, told WBTV. One of the several books near the scorched car seat was suspected of having a lithium battery, which are susceptible to catching fire if they overheat, according to the Burke County Fire Marshal's Office.

(More lithium-ion batteries stories.)

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