Discount online retailer Temu has launched an internal investigation after a cheap phone charger sparked a house fire on Auckland’s North Shore that significantly damaged a family home.
A Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesperson said the cable was being used to recharge a phone and had been placed on soft material in a Greenhithehouse when it overheated and caught fire on Saturday, November 23.
Five fire trucks attended the blaze at the three-storey house around 9.30pm and evacuated all occupants safely, the spokesperson said.
A Temu spokesperson told the Herald they were “deeply concerned” about the accident and “relieved that Mr [Layne] Sparks and his family are safe and unharmed”.
The spokesperson said while they have not yet received the purchase details needed to verify which product caused the blaze, Temu has proactively initiated an internal investigation.
“Our teams are carefully reviewing product listings and seller records related to the USB cables mentioned in the news. According to the fire and emergency department’s findings reported in the news, the fire may have involved the use of a cable to recharge a phone while it was placed on a soft surface,” the spokesperson said.
“We encourage all users to follow their recommendation to recharge devices on hard, non-flammable surfaces to reduce risk. We urge Mr Sparks to contact us directly so we can investigate the specific product more thoroughly and keep him updated on our progress. Temuremains committed to acting with transparency and responsibility as we address this matter.”
Layne Sparks, who lives at the Greenhithehouse, said his partner was using a “green, flashing cord” bought from the Chinese owned online retailer to charge her phone and left it between their bed and a pillow to protect it from their pet rabbit.
“It seems like the cord, being so hot, just caught the bed on fire, and it all went off.”
Sparks said his partner had taken a sleeping pill which hadn’t worked, leading her to go outside for a cigarette.
“They say smoking kills. It might have saved [that] night.”
While outside, his partner heard the smoke alarm go off and rushed back inside to check on their 1-year-old baby.
“She apparently saw smoke straight away, went straight [in] and grabbed our baby and went outside.”
Sparks says he was gaming in the downstairs garage when his partner alerted him to the fire, and he ran to the top floor thinking she had gone further into the house.
“[I opened] that door and just saw pitch black, like just black-as smoke, you know, you can’t see anything ahead of you ... within a second I was just covered in it.”
The family and their pet rabbit escaped and fire crews from Albany and Greenhithe arrived to put out the blaze.
Sparks said two walls would have to be replaced and the bedroom was completely burned out, while the bathroom was left “black with smoke”.
The top floor will “need to be redone” and the second floor sustained significant water damage, as well as “muddy, ashy stuff” rubbed into the floor, he said.
Sparks said their landlord had house insurance but they did not have contents insurance, meaning they would have to replace everything in their bedroom.
The family have moved out while the clean-up and repair process is being undertaken and have started a Givealittle to help cover costs.
“I think the main thing to take away from this is: Don’t use cheap charging cables,” Sparks said.
“If they’re not really that safe or from an approved manufacturer, then you’re just risking something like this happening.”
A Fire and Emergency spokesperson said they recommend device chargers only be operated on hard surfaces to reduce fire risk.
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