Fire official: Man's cell phone apparently sets him
ablaze
POSTED: 7:17 a.m. EST, January 16, 2007
Story Highlights Cell phone in man's pocket sparks hotel
blaze
Fire causes $75,000 in damage
Man in stable condition after being badly burned
VALLEJO, California (AP) -- A cell phone apparently ignited in a
man's pocket and started a fire that burned his hotel room and
caused severe burns over half his body, fire department officials
said.
Luis Picaso, 59, was in stable condition Monday with second- and
third-degree burns to his upper body, back, right arm and right
leg, Vallejo Fire Department assistant chief Kurt Henke said.
Firefighters arrived at the residential hotel Saturday night to
find Picaso lying on the bathroom floor after a malfunctioning cell
phone in his pants pocket set fire to his nylon and polyester
clothes, Henke said.
The flames spread to a plastic chair, setting off a sprinkler that
held the fire in check, he said.
Authorities declined to name the phone's manufacturer and
model.
The fire and water caused $75,000 damage to the room and a business
on the ground floor, Henke said.
