The third-generation Amazon Echo Dot is total fire, but for one family, that description became too true for comfort. Joe Jachym, a retired firefighter, says he came home on Sunday, February 24, to find his kitchen filling with smoke and his third-generation Amazon Echo Dot in flames. According to Jachym, an electrical fire centered around the plug or the outlet would throw the breaker and (in theory) extinguish the flames, but neither the plug or the outlet was damaged — only the smart assistant.
The Jachym family extinguished the fire with no further damage except a char on their wooden countertop and smoke stains along the cabinets. After an Ohio news station reached to Amazon for comment while reporting on the story, a representative from Amazon gave the family a call and offered to send a new Echo Dot, as well as have the previous one brought in for inspection.
An Amazon spokesperson told Digital Trends that they’re looking into the incident.
“Amazon takes the safety of its products seriously,” the spokesperson said. “We have reached out to this customer and are investigating this matter.”
According to Fox 8 Cleveland, the news station that reported on the incident, The Jachym family says they plan to use the new Echo Dot that Amazon is sending to them and plan to seek a refund from the location they purchased their original model, a nameless big-box retailer.
Millions of families use the Amazon Echo Dot and other models of the smart assistant, but no other reports have surfaced of fires. While there is likely no cause for concern, it is always a good idea to use proper care and precautions with any electronics. Make sure it is nowhere near liquid and that it has proper ventilation. While no word has emerged on why the Jachym family’s Echo Dot caught on fire, the situation could have been much worse had it been located closer to flammable materials like paper or curtains.
There have been instances of seemingly spontaneous device explosions in the past. Samsung came under fire a couple of years ago due to several instances of Galaxy Note 7 phones exploding. Recently, a woman claimed that an LED-lit sippy cup exploded in her hand.
Updated February 27 to include a statement from an Amazon spokesperson.
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