Orange County man's tablet catches fire while charging

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Tuesday, October 2, 2018
Orange County man's tablet catches fire while charging
Sergio Mendoza's HP tablet caught on fire while it was charging on his bedside table.

FULLERTON, Calif. (KABC) -- Sergio Mendoza's HP tablet caught on fire while it was charging on his bedside table. No one was hurt, but the flames from the tablet set the bed on fire.

He first heard whistling and popping noises coming from the device. "It made me jump back and I saw flames come out of the tablet," he said.

He immediately smothered the tablet in blankets to put out the fire.

Mendoza believes the tablet caught on fire due to overheating from a charging device not made by HP.

He's tried to get in touch with HP manufacturers but said they hadn't gotten back to him.

"You can't really take something like that lightly, if you get a call like that you would think they would respond a little sooner," said Mendoza.

He wants answers from the company but more than anything, he's sad about the content he lost from the fire. "Videos and pictures and yeah, they're gone. They're something you can't replace. you know?"