Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries are ubiquitous in our gadget-filled lives. You probably have multiple devices containing one within reach right now. It’s easy to forget how dangerous they can be, as a New Jersey family did when a speaker sitting on a bed began to give off smoke.

According to NBC New York, the mother and daughter panicked, grabbing the smoking speaker with an oven mitt and placing it in a paper bag. They recounted that the bag burst into flames after they got it out of the apartment. This is why you shouldn’t put a smoldering gadget in a paper bag.

The fire was put out with water and the fire department summoned, and the mother took to Twitter to warn others.

https://twitter.com/TheRealEmpress/status/847287912622284800

https://twitter.com/TheRealEmpress/status/847288136367460353

When something like this happens to you, after calling 911 and (optionally) posting about it on social media, gather all of the information that you have about the product and the incident and report it to Saferproducts.gov, the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s site.

Gizmodo speculates based on the speaker’s markings that it could potentially be a counterfeit version of the JBL Pulse.

We contacted JBL’s parent company, Harman, about these reports and will update this post if we hear anything back. Harman International was just acquired by Samsung, a deal that closed a few weeks ago on March 10. Samsung has presumably learned a lot about how to deal with overheating batteries.

Update: When we first contacted JBL, a company representative told Consumerist that they were looking into the situation and taking it seriously. Since then, the company discussed the speaker with the local fire department, which took the speaker after the fire. The fire department determined that the speaker was not a product from JBL, which the department confirmed to Consumerist. If we find out any more information about who did make the speaker, we will let you know.

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.