iPhone explodes in cyclist’s pocket

A #Sydney bicycle rider, who says he was severely burnt when his Apple iPhone exploded after a minor fall, is now on a mission to make people aware of the potential dangers of using such devices. Bondi management consultant Gareth Clear, 36, said his iPhone was in his back pocket and ignited after he had a fall from his bike while riding on Sunday afternoon. Gareth Clear was mountain biking when he fell on his iphone causing it to explode which melted his shorts and badly burnt the skin on his upper right thigh. "I just saw smoke coming out of my back pocket...and then all of a sudden I felt this surging pain," he said, adding that he felt a "searing heat" as the phone burnt through his riding shorts in a matter of seconds. "I just remember looking at my leg and I had this black discharge all down my leg and this smell of phosphorus," he said. Apple's Australia-based office have not commented on the incident, however it is understood they are speaking directly to Mr Clear about the incident. Each year the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission routinely receives around one to two reports of consumer injuries from mobile phone batteries. An ACCC spokesman said it was investigating the incident involving Mr Clear, in conjunction with NSW Fair Trading. "The decreasing size and slimness of portable devices coupled with consumer expectations about battery life are a challenge for battery manufacturers," he said. "Lithium batteries are vulnerable to significant physical impact, [which] may damage the extremely thin separators that keep the elements of the battery apart." The ACCC recommends mobile phones are not stored in pockets when people's activities mean there is a chance of a significant physical impact. Mr Clear said his fall was only minor and occurred after his foot slipped on the bike pedal when he was about to start moving, causing him to lose his balance. At the burns unit at the Royal North Shore Hospital, Mr Clear said he was told he had third-degree burns on his upper right thigh, and had to have a skin graft. He posted a picture of his injury on his Twitter account, and received a "mechanical" response from Apple, before an employee tried to call him. It is not unique for lithium ion batteries, which are used in smart phones, laptops, hover boards and electric cars, to explode. It can occur in even the best circuitry, due to defects, overheating, physical damage or external pressure, or a combination of the factors. Gareth Clear, 36, of Bondi says his #iPhone exploded, causing him serious burns, after he fell off his bike on the weekend. In 2011, a phone on a flight from Lismore to Sydney started emitting "a significant amount of dense smoke, accompanied by a red glow" and had to be extinguished. An investigation by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau later revealed a misplaced screw had punctured the battery case during a screen-replacement job, leading to a short circuit. "The more pervasive these are in our lives and the more people use them with a lack of apprehension that something might go wrong, the more that these things will happen," he said. In 2015-16 the ACCC's risk assessment of poor quality rechargeable lithium batteries and electrical wiring systems led to an interim product ban, followed by a two year mandatory safety standard, for self-balancing electric scooters.