Honey my laptop blew up the truck Flames engulf ancient Ford as Dell brings hunting trip to disastrous endBy Paul Hales: Tuesday 08 August 2006, 12:49 THOMAS FORQUERAN thought he was looking after his laptop by placing it on the floor of his truck while he and his chum loaded up their tackle after a two-day fishing trip. But, moments later, his grandpa's 1966 Ford burst into flames in a blaze that set off boxes of ammunition and had Forqueran and his mate, Rod Riddle, running for their lives. "Flames were shooting about three feet out the window," the 62-year-old told ConsumerAffairs.Com. "The flames were rushing at me and the three boxes of bullets in the glove compartment. It was extremely accelerated. It was like someone was firing napalm." The Dell Inspiron has emerged as the "primary suspect" in an investigation into the cause of the blaze that brought the two-day fishing trip at Lake Mead National Forest in Nevada, on July 13, 2006 to an explosive end. Riddle said he heard a "popping sound" before smoke started billowing from the cab. "I could tell by the look of the fire from where I was that there was no way we were going to put out the fire," wrote Riddle in his evidence. After dodging bullets for a number of minutes, the fishermen took cover as the flames headed for the petrol tank. "I can never replace Grandpa's truck," said Forqueran. "Grandpa bought it new and kept it that way. There were a lot of family memories in that truck."We always used to say that Grandpa would be turning in his grave if the truck ever got dirty." National Forest Ranger Brandon Marsmaker was brought to the scene by the plume of smoke. In his report, the ranger wrote: "When I examined the vehicle I noted the remnants of shell casings. "I also noted what appeared to be the remains of a laptop computer. "The flame pattern indicates that it started on the passenger side of the vehicle and primarily worked its way back to the bed of the truck. … All items inside the vehicle were destroyed by the fire." There seems to be no doubt in Forqueran's mind that his Dell Inspiron 1300/B130 set his truck ablaze. "I want people to know what happened to me," he said. "These laptops are dangerous and people need to know." µ
Dell laptop catches fire at Yahoo research buildingSanta Clara (CA) - In what has become an almost daily occurrence, another Dell laptop has caught on fire, this time at Yahoo's Silicon Valley research center in Santa Clara. The fire caused several hundred employees to stream out of the office tower, but fortunately no one was injured. Employees returned to work approximately 45 minutes later. The burnt laptop, which appears to be a Dell Inspiron, was placed on a pedestal for everyone to photograph. Several pictures were on the web within minutes because several Yahoo employees have accounts on the Flickr photo sharing website. Yahoo conveniently owns Flickr.A Yahoo spokesperson confirmed the incident by calling us with a short statement. "Yes, it did happen and no there were no injuries," said the spokesperson.
