Kmart charger almost starts fire in little girl's bedroom
A concerned mum has reached out on Facebook for help after a Kmart brand lightning computer cable almost caused a fire in her daughter's bedroom.
"Anyone else had fire issues with the Kmart rainbow USB charge cords?" the mum asked in a Kmart enthusiast Facebook group along with photos of the damaged cord.
"This nearly caused a fire in my daughter’s bedroom and I’m trying to ascertain if it’s the cord or something else as the cause?"
The Kmart customer explained to Yahoo News Australia she had purchased the Lightning cable two-metre rainbow rope from Kmart in December last year for her daughter’s Christmas stocking but it hadn’t been used frequently as the family had been away.
“She plugged her iPhone 8 in and started using it, and then came running out screaming saying it was burning," the woman explained.
Several Kmart shoppers replied to the mum's Facebook post stating they had the same cable and not experienced any issues, while others said they had noticed some inexpensive charge cables heat up while in use.
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'Be careful of this cord'
"I have two that have never had a problem but thank you for the heads up and so glad your daughter was not injured," one user replied.
"I had a different cord... I woke up to it sizzling in the charger port of the phone (Galaxy s9)... now I can only charge it with one particular cord and charger," another person wrote.
Another customer shared a similar concern over how hot the particular Kmart cable became, leaving her child with a blister.
"Be careful of this cord, (it) heated up so much (it) burned my child's hand," the concerned parent wrote along with a photo of her young child's hand.
The mum said she was a big fan of Kmart and had contacted the retailer to report the issue.
Although she explained she works in the tech industry, the mother felt the retailer should provide more directions on packaging for safe use of the cables.
“There needs to be a lot more utilisation warnings on packaging and education,” she said.
Yahoo News Australia contacted Kmart Australia for comment and understands Kmart is investigating the matter.
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