Social media challenge involving laptop fires sparks warnings after incidents reported in Mass.
Fourteen incidents and attempts have been reported in Massachusetts, but several more incidents have likely gone unreported, state Fire Marshal Jon Davine said in a statement on Thursday.
'We've received more than a dozen reports from Massachusetts fire departments of young people engaging in this behavior in less than a week,' said Davine.
Since around May 6, incidents have been reported in Barnstable, Essex, Hampden, Hampshire, Middlesex and Worcester counties.
So far, only one minor injury has been reported, Davine said. Heavy smoke and device damage have been reported in other cases.
Most of the reported incidents were interrupted by teachers who spotted the abuse of school-issued laptops, Davine said.
Davine said the trend, which appears to have started on TikTok, promotes inserting a paper clip, pencil lead, or other conductive object into a laptop computer's charging port or other port.
This can cause a short circuit that increases the device's temperature or causes smoke, sparks, or a fire – any of which could injure a young user, he said.
'There are probably many more that responsible adults haven't heard of or officially reported,' Davine said. 'No matter how smart your kids or students might be, please impress upon them that the only thing you should place in a computer port is the appropriate cord.'
Davine said he has circulated a notice about the nationwide trend to local fire chiefs.
Foxboro Fire Chief Michael Kelleher, president of the Fire Chiefs Association of Massachusetts, called the challenge 'dangerous' as laptops are typically powered by lithium-ion batteries.
'Today's electronic devices pack a lot of power into small containers, and tampering with them is dangerous,' Kelleher said. 'Almost all modern laptops are powered by lithium-ion batteries, which can erupt in sparks and flames when damaged or abused. An event like that will injure anyone close by. The fire can easily spread to clothing, bedding, upholstery, and furniture.'
Fire officials said unfortunately, social media trends involving risky fire-related behavior are not new.
In 2020, numerous electrical fires and damage were reported after another challenge promoted dropping a coin onto the prongs of a power plug partially inserted into a wall outlet, Davine said.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Tea app fuels divorce and controversy in Dearborn, sparks copycat platforms like Teaborn
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"All women should deserve to be safe, especially in the society and the world that we live in," Bradley said. "Having some sort of knowledge and utilizing that knowledge for your own safety is important." How Tea works Tea was founded by Sean Cook "after witnessing his mother's terrifying experience with online dating — not only being catfished but unknowingly engaging with men who had criminal records," according to the app's website. Users are shown posts of men in their area with photos and first names, allowing women to assign a 'red flag' or 'green flag' and comment based on personal experience or what they've learned from others. Women can search names or phone numbers directly or set up custom alerts for specific men. Additional features include background checks, criminal record searches, sex offender searches and reverse image searches to help identify catfishing attempts, according to Tea. To join Tea, women must verify their identity by submitting selfies. 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One of the more prevalent men-only versions, TeaOnHer Dating Advice, briefly surpassed the women-only platform on Apple's free apps chart on Aug. 12 — TeaOnHer ranked second while Tea ranked third. As of Aug. 18, Tea sits at No. 3 while TeaOnHer has fallen to No. 8. Security breaches raise privacy concerns, lead to lawsuits Tea says identity verification selfies are deleted after review. However, that promise of privacy was called into question after the company detected unauthorized access to one of its systems on July 25. Tea confirmed about 72,000 images were accessed, including roughly 13,000 selfies and ID photos, and 59,000 images publicly visible in posts, comments or messages. Only users who signed up before February 2024 were affected. The app had phased out ID verification before the leak. On July 28, 404 Media reported a second security breach that exposed more than 1.1 million direct messages exchanged on the app between early 2023 and July 2025. 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