iPhone Catches Fire in Pants

A 13-year-old girl in Maine suffered first- and second-degree burns when her iPhone caught fire in her pants, according to Portland news station WMTW. School officials say the girl sat down and heard a popping noise then saw smoke coming from her back pocket, where her iPhone was. The girl’s friends asked the boys in the room to leave while she took off her pants and a teacher brought a blanket. The girl was later treated and released from the hospital. Fire officials speculate that the phone’s battery “shorted out” when the girl sat down. “People should obviously use caution when placing their phones in their back pockets so as not to crush them and cause an electrical short,” one official said. Apple has yet to comment on the incident.