Dad warns of phone charging danger after son's bed caught fire

A father from Leicester had the scare of his life last week when he smelt burning coming from upstairs and realised his young son's bedroom was on fire.

Dwayne Blanchard posted his story and the alarming cause for the fire to his 350 Facebook friends a couple of days ago but the story has since gone viral, and has now been shared over 25,000 times.

'So I've just been running round the house stark bollock naked because the fire alarm was going I could smell the smoke but didn't know where from.'

Upon entering son Brandon's room, he noticed his boy had been charging a Bluetooth speaker and his phone under his pillow, which caused the sheets to break into flames.

'Checked the boys room to find Brandon's pillow on fire because he left stuff charging on it how many times have I said don't charge stuff on or under your pillow!!!'

By a lucky fluke Dwayne had stayed at home later than planned on the morning of the fire and was in the house when the fire alarm started, so was able to put it out before it caused more destruction.

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Brandon told the Huffington Post that he wanted his frightening story to be a reminder to every one of the dangers that smart phones and electronic devices can have in the home.

And especially for the parents of teens - who are prone to sleeping with their devices nearby either under their pillow or in their bed.

Despite some initial embarrassment for admitting that he was naked during the heroic incidident, Dwayne is glad the post has gone viral in the hope it will raise awareness for unlicensed equipment.

Official advice from electronic manufacturers is to make sure you are charging in an open and cool environment and only buy from officially trusted brands.

But even that doesn't always seem to be the solution.

In August this year phone provider EE had to issue a recall notice for a batch of 'Power Bar' battery chargers after one exploded and left Aberdeen medical student Katy Emslie with severe burns.