Apple is investigating why one AirPod caught on fire in Florida

You look at Apple's wireless Bluetooth powered AirPods and you think that here is a benign device that could never cause a problem. That is, until the day that it does. Earlier this week, Floridian Jason Colon was working out at an LA Fitness in St. Petersburg while listening to a dance mix, when all of a sudden the headphones stopped working. White smoke started to come out of the device.

Realizing that something wasn't right, Colon put the AirPods down on some exercise equipment and ran to get help. When he returned, the right AirPod looked like melted plastic, and was obviously no longer going to work. Some marks on the unit indicated that it was charred. Colon realized that he had dodged a bullet by removing the AirPods from his ears in time. "I don’t know what would’ve happened to my ear," he said. "But I’m sure since it hangs down, it could’ve been [my] ear lobe. Ear lobe could’ve been burnt."

No one in the gym saw the incident, so it is unclear exactly what happened. Colon puts the blame squarely on the batteries, and believes that other AirPods owners need to be warned. So far, there have not been any other reports of an AirPod going up in smoke. Meanwhile, an Apple spokeswomen told a local Tampa television station that it will talk to Colon while it investigates what caused its wearable product to catch on fire.

Check out the report that was televised on the local news by tapping the video at the top of this story.

source: WFLA via MacRumors