Man's Phone Catches Fire In Pants At Local Costco: Report

PUYALLUP, WA - A man's cell phone caught on fire in his pants while he was shopping at Costco on Thursday, according to KOMO News.

Another shopper, identified by KOMO as Everett Tyrrell, said he saw smoke, and came around a corner to find a man wearing no pants and standing next to the burned phone. Employees came to the man's aid, spraying the phone with a fire extinguisher.

It's unclear what caused the phone to catch fire, but problems with lithium ion batteries have caused devices - including smartphones - to spontaneously burst into flames. This week, reports surfaced of a woman whose battery-powered headphones exploded during a flight from Beijing to Melbourne, Australia. In that case, the headphones exploded, burning the woman's face.

Meanwhile, Samsung had to issue a recall on its Galaxy Note 7 phones due to risk of the batteries overheating. There have also been reports of iPhone 7 explosions, and in late February, a Germantown, Ohio, man's Samsung phone exploded while charging.

The owner of the phone at the Puyallup Costco was not injured by the phone fire. A Costco manager did provide him with a new pair of pants.

Image via Emilio Morenatti/Associated Press