Records Show Dell Aware of Laptop Fires Years Before Recall

CRN recently reported that sources supposedly from within Dell Computer Corporation confirmed that the company kept quiet for at least two years before finally recalling 22,000 notebooks last year.

According to CRN's sources, Dell knew of literally dozens of cases where laptops had burst into flames before they identified the issue as a broad ranging threat that prompted the company to issue a mass recall last December. At that time Dell officially acknowledged that they had received three reports of batteries overheating. But the documentation presented to CRN included detailed evidence of previous investigations into the overheating on dozens of laptops.

While the news of Dell's alleged cover-up is disturbing - what is truly frightening is the fact that these laptops continue to pose a deadly risk to consumers. Just this week the [Sydney Morning Herald] reported another incident of a Dell laptop becoming "a flamethrower". A Herald reader from Singapore told the paper that the Dell laptop supplied to him by his company had turned into a molten disaster right before his eyes and he has the photos to prove it.

This latest story comes in the wake of another Dell that reportedly burst into flames at an office in Illinois last week and the now infamous exploding Dell laptop that was captured on film during a conference in Japan last month.
The exact cause of these fiery laptop meltdowns is unknown, but faulty engineering or insufficient cooling may be to blame. The most likely culprit however, is the rechargeable lithium ion batteries. It is believed that these batteries present a fire hazard when they are either damaged or suffer a short circuit.

Laptops are getting more compact, meaning there's less room for ventilation to disperse heat. To compete in the competitive high-tech market laptop makers are adding more and more features such as DVD players that generate more heat. The computers are getting hotter and smaller and less capable of self-cooling. Throw in combustible lithium ion batteries and you've got a potential ticking bomb on your hands...or on your lap.

The problem is not limited to Dell laptops. In April an 11-year-old's unattended Apple iBook in Solon, Iowa, melted the carpet it was sitting on and subsequently caught fire and in the same month Hewlett-Packard recalled thousands of batteries for overheating and electrical shorts. And it's possible to find complaints of overheating laptops for just about every manufacturer.

Laptops are getting more popular, meaning more people are using them as a primary computer. They're portable and easy to transport, but flying with your laptop may be potentially dangerous. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating whether laptop batteries caused a UPS cargo plane to catch on fire last February.

If you're using a laptop be certain to shut it down if you feel it heating up. Make sure the immediate area around your computer is free and clear and that nothing is further impairing its ventilation system.