Fidget spinners are all the rage among kids. For those who don't know what they are: you don't need to. They'll be gone soon enough. Kids will get back into yo-yos and life will became slightly less confusing and scary to you once again.
Anyway: now that some of them have fancy new features, parents are speaking out about what could go wrong. Gizmodo points out that two mums, who live in two different American states, have issued warnings about their fidget spinners spontaneously catching on fire.
Michelle Carr of Fenton, Michigan, says she loves playing with the toys, and fidgeting with them has helped her smoke less. But when she bought one that had a special Bluetooth speaker in it to play music from her phone, she got way more than she bargained for. After being on its charger for less than 30 minutes, it caught on fire. "Right here in this book case, I could see the reflection [in the glass]," Carr told Fox 66 News. "The fidget spinner was on fire on my counter."
Carr told the local TV station that there were no instructions on how to charge the device, so she used a cord that she normally uses for her baby monitor. "I know there are tons of kids who want to go get them, but if you plug them in, just stay by and make sure it's charged and it doesn't catch," she told the station.
Separately, in Gardendale, Alabama, Kimberly Allums warned the same thing happened to her. She had given her son a Bluetooth fidget spinner, and after 45 minutes of charging, it burst into flames. "[My son] noticed that it burst into flames and he just started screaming," she told WBRC-TV. "I was downstairs and all I heard was 'fire, fire,' and the fidget spinner had literally — it was smoking, it was in flames."
Once again, there was no warning, and the box didn't have contact instructions for the manufacturer. In a statement to Gizmodo, the Consumer Product Safety Commission warns people to stay in the same room as devices that are charging batteries.
"Never charge a product with batteries overnight while you are sleeping. Always follow the manufacturer's instructions and use the charger from the manufacturer that is designed specifically for your device.
CPSC is also investigating reported incidents involving children and fidget spinners. We advise parents to keep fidget spinners away from young children, because they can choke on small parts. Warn older children not to put fidget spinners in their mouths."
Solid advice.
