Thomas Forqueran has a message for Dell Computer Company after his laptop exploded: 'Fix Grandpa's truck'.
Better yet, buy him a new one. Forqueran's priceless truck is burnt beyond repair, caused by his Dell Inspiron laptop exploding.
July 13th, at Greg's Hideout, Lake Mead National Forest, Nevada:
"It was about 1pm. My friend Rod Riddle and I had just put the ramp up on the back of the truck to start loading our camping gear. I already had my Dell Inspiron laptop on the floor of the passenger side," says Forqueran.
"All of a sudden my truck - a family heirloom - burst into flames. Just three minutes previously, Rod had put a few things on the passenger seat and heard a 'popping' noise. Then I smelled smoke. I looked up and saw flames shooting out the passenger side window so I ran to the driver's side (I had three boxes of ammo in the glove box and wanted to get them outa there) and saw flames shooting from my Dell laptop.
The flames had already engulfed the passenger side and were spreading fast. We both ran for cover and I barely got time to duck behind my quad [all terrain vehicle] when the ammo started firing and then the gas tank exploded."
It was 100 degrees outside and the men were stranded - Forqueran's cell phone had also gone up in a pillar of black smoke. Luckily for them, a nearby boater saw the fire and had to travel several miles out of the park to use a phone and call Park Ranger Brandon Marsmaker.
"The park ranger was our saving grace and he made an extra one-hour boat trip to bring us ice water," says Forqueran. Incredibly, the men escaped unharmed except for Riddle who suffered heat exhaustion and Forqueran had a few minor scrapes and burns. His biggest loss was the truck.
"I can never replace "Grandpa's truck" or all the hours of fun at the Route 66 Fun Runs or the daily compliments I received on my 'fine truck'. Grandpa bought it new and kept it that way.
"You can bet I'm going to pursue this. My homeowner's policy is covering the laptop and some of my personal property I had in the cab but I only had collision insurance on my truck. My insurance company had no problem realizing the laptop caused the fire.
"My truck is beyond repair and I'm pissed off. Sean from Dell Computers called and took a statement, saying he would pass it on to the legal department. He gave me a phone number to call if I didn't hear back from them right away. What a joke - it was a number that requires you to key in a special numerical code. He forgot to give me the code.
Dell is going to have to pay attention sooner or later. The sooner they get hold of me the easier it'll be for them. And I'm not the only person whose laptop went up in flames - this is not an isolated incident.