American authorities have found no evidence that Samsung Electronics Co.’s Galaxy Note 7 caused a fire that engulfed a car in flames in St. Petersburg, Florida on September 5.
Local media St. Pete Patch reported on Monday that St. Petersburg Fire Rescue has classified the cause of the fire as unknown. “It was reported that a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 device was in the vehicle at the time of the fire and there were allegations that it may have been the cause,” said the report by quoting the authorities’ email sent to the media. “After a thorough investigation, fire investigators did not find a cause for the fire,” it added.
According to the report, the fire was caused by an “undetermined” factor. It also said that “due to the destructive nature of the fire, and multiple possibilities that could not be eliminated as to the ignition source, this classification was determined most appropriate.”
The car was suddenly caught on fire on September 5 and the owner told that he had been charging his Note 7 when his Jeep Grand Cherokee “burst into flames.”
The incident took place amid a mass-scale recall program issued by the Korean tech giant on Sept. 2 after receiving a series of reports of phone explosions due to faulty lithium-ion batteries.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a recall notice of the devices on Sept. 15. An estimated one million Galaxy Note 7 phones will be subject for the replacement program that begins on Sept. 21 in the U.S.
By Lee Seung-hoon
[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]