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Exploding Samsung phone destroys Florida teen's bedroom
🇦🇷 Argentina /Disasters & Emergencies

Exploding Samsung phone destroys Florida teen's bedroom

From La Nación · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Outcome reported
  • A 19-year-old woman's bedroom in Hialeah, Florida, was destroyed by a fire caused by an exploding Samsung cell phone.
  • The incident occurred on August 12 when the phone, a Samsung Galaxy A15, reportedly exploded while charging on the owner's bed.
  • The family is grateful no one was injured, recognizing the material loss is insignificant compared to the risk of life.

A fire completely consumed the bedroom of a family home in Hialeah, Florida, after a Samsung cell phone exploded. Maya García, 19, recounted the terrifying moments of the incident, which occurred on August 12. She had left her Samsung Galaxy A15 on her mattress while she went to collect a food delivery.

I left my cell phone on the bed, I went to open the door for DoorDash and I felt an explosion

— Maya GarcíaDescribing the moments leading up to the fire.

Shortly after receiving the DoorDash order, García and her father heard a loud explosion from inside the house. "It sounded like 'boom,' like breaking glass, 'swoosh,'" García described the sound of the combustion. The blast quickly filled the rooms with dense black smoke, making visibility impossible.

I was sitting and I heard an explosion behind me

— Maya GarcíaRecounting the sound of the explosion.

The speed of the fire prevented the family from saving their most valuable belongings before their emergency evacuation. "I'm panicking, but I'm trying to stay calm," García said. The fire reduced her bedroom furniture to ashes and destroyed childhood memories. The mobile phone remained visible among the ruins of the bed.

It sounded like 'boom,' like breaking glass, 'swoosh'

— Maya GarcíaDescribing the sound of the combustion.

Fire inspectors have not yet released a final report, but investigators confirmed to the family that the cell phone started the fire. García expressed gratitude for being unharmed, recognizing that material loss is insignificant compared to the risk of life she narrowly avoided. "What matters is that I am alive here today," she stated.

You couldn't see inside the house: flames, smoke

— Maya GarcíaDescribing the immediate aftermath of the explosion.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by La Nación in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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