Consumerist
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fire
DirecTV Charges Wildfire Victims For Burnt TV Receivers
DirecTV was planning on charging several victims in the largest fire in recorded Los Angeles County history for the satellite TV receivers that burnt to cinders in their homes. "What I'd like to do is take a shovel full of ashes from my cabin and dump it on their desk. They can have their receivers back," Ken Gray told LAT. More » -
ford
4.5 Million Flammable Fords Recalled
Ford and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have announced a recall of 4.5 million vehicles spanning back to 1992. A mixup in the manufacture resulted in the "self-immolation" button being labeled "cruise control." In all seriousness, though, a vehicle fire could occur on these models, so be sure to check this out. More » -
oh the humanity
iPods Still Exploding; Apple Just Doesn't Want You To Know
We thought that maybe exploding iPods were a 2008 phenomenon, but evidently not. An 11-year-old girl's iPod exploded in England, and Apple reportedly tried to get the entire family to sign a confidentiality agreement in order to get a refund. More » -
fire
Recalls: Your Subaru Baja May Self-Immolate
It is our solemn duty to inform you that your Subaru Baja could be trying to light itself, and by extension, you, on fire. More » -
dumb
Citgo Employees Smoke Cigarettes At Gas Station, Are Apparently Fireproof
Maybe these guys know something about the risks of combining fire and gasoline that we don't, but we're pretty sure that you're not supposed to smoke at a gas station. Reader Chris didn't think so either, and he sent us these pics of employees taking a smoke break at his local Citgo. More » -
we don't need no water, let the mother #$@ burn
iPods Are On Fire — No, Really
iPods aren't only en fuego on the sales charts, but a 15 have been reported catching actual fire as customers used them. More » -
spicy meats
Slim Jim Factory Explodes, Kills Three, Requires HazMat Team
A ConAgra plant near Raleigh, N.C., that makes and packages Slim Jim beef jerky was rocked by a huge explosion on Tuesday, killing three employees and sending dozens of workers and three firefighters to hospital with severe burns or "exposure to toxic fumes." More » -
bad consumer
Man Causes Thousands In Fire Damage After Walmart Refuses Return
After Walmart wouldn't let him make a return, Phillip R. Wright, 41, of Monroe, Louisiana, pictured, left, looking disgruntled and pretty "arsony," set a men's clothing rack inside the store on fire. More » -
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contextual advertising
Seattle TV Station Offers Delicious Accidental Chicken Barbecue Recipes
Seattle TV station KIRO, like a lot of media organizations, has sponsored links on their front page. This is all well and good, since you have to pay for the camera(wo)men and the antennae and the pixels somehow. The problem is that sometimes sad news stories and contextual advertising lead to... hilarity. More » -
fire
HP Calls About Pants Burnin' Laptop
HP called Consumerist about our inquiry about Jillian's sparking and flaming HP dv2845se laptop adapter that she says burned a hole in her pants and caused a welt on her leg. Jillian had also alleged that HP customer service, regular and escalated, was both unresponsive and rude. HP told us.... More » -
fire
HP Adapter Catches Fire, Burns Pants, Execs Ignore
UPDATE: HP Calls About Pants Burnin' Laptop
Pants pants, burning bright, in my house in the night, thanks to a malfunctioning power adapter for the HP dv2845se. It's no Blake but it is what happened to reader Jillian Madison. While she was using her laptop, her adapter started sparking and burst into flames, burning a hole in her pants and causing a welt on her legs. Now, after dozens of phone calls and emails to HP executive support and HP executives, and 6 weeks of waiting, she hasn't heard a thing back from HP, though she says some reps have given her an earful of rudeness. More »
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surprise
United Sets Woman's Luggage On Fire
United may be trying out a new revenue idea: the don't-set-my-bags-ablaze fee. Shannon Tadel's luggage was incinerated as she boarded a plane in Syracuse, NY on December 1st, 2008. The cool thing about this sort of story is she got to see the inside of a cockpit! The not so cool part is what happened next:
"[The pilot] said, 'Do you see that over there? That's your luggage,'" Tadel recalled. She looked out the plane's window and saw a man with a hose and a big plume of smoke.
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comcatastrophe
Comcast Bills Man For Self-Immolating Cable Box Of Doom
If your Comcast cable box starts a fire in your home — should you be responsible for paying to replace it? More » -
In which Consumer Reports employees harm themselves or their real estate with consumer products, part 2. In this episode, a CR staffer's son uses the stove's self-cleaning feature without removing a plastic cutting board from inside the oven. Yes, the fire department was involved. They had to pull the range out of the kitchen and leave it to cool in the driveway. Awkward. [Consumer Reports]
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recalls
Batteries From Dell, Toshiba, and HP Laptops Recalled
35,000 laptop batteries from laptops sold from 2004-2006 have been recalled for fire and burn hazards. There have been 17 fires and 2 burns associated with these batteries, so if you've got one, make sure you take care of this issue. More » -
insurance
Comcast: Fire Destroyed Your Cable Box? Pay Up.
Here's one more thing to worry about when a fire destroys your home — Comcast. More » -
ipod
iPod Nano Explodes While Charging
Reader D's first-gen iPod Nano was chugging power from his PC's USB port when suddenly he saw it "explode open and start shooting sparks and spewing smoke." Pictures inside, along with Apple's response.
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fire
New York, 7:59 AM
Wed Nov 11
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