There has been a story floating around the Internet concerning a igniting cell phone, that set a mans clothes on fire, resulting in severe burns. Ouch! When I first read the original story, the fire department interview was adamant that this is what had happened.

The story as first told, concerned a man staying in a motel in Vallejo, California, had fallen asleep in a plastic lounge chair with a cell phone in his pocket. He awoke to his clothing on fire, which according to the story were nylon pants and shirt, which immediately erupted into flames. This poor soul suffered burns to 50% of his body, and when I read last, he was still in the hospital for treatment.

Next story had it that the cell phone mas manufactured by Nokia, who had immediately dispatched some tech’s to examine the phone. They determined that the phone was in good working order. And was still able to dial/receive calls and that the battery was intact, and also in good working order. This lead the Vallejo Fire Department to withdraw their claim that the cell phone had started the fire.

After reading this article it struck me that the Internet, though a great means of transferring news, also has become a media was some misinformation as well. We readers must be cautious in what we read and take take one source only as gospel. We need to evaluate and research stories before posting or emailing these to our friends or associates.

Why do I bring this up? Because this story was actually sent to me by a friend, stating that Nokia cell phones were trying to kill folks. Had I just took the original story at face value, that would of seemed to be the case. But after doing a quick Google, I was able to determine that the cell phone was not the culprit.

And I would venture to guess that the original story of the flaming cell phone will most likely turn into a urban legend.

[tags]google, search, cell phone, fire, nokia, [/tags]