WEST DEER, Pa. — The mother of a Deer Lakes student wants other families to heed caution after she said a small flashlight, reportedly purchased at school by her daughter as a Christmas present, caught fire as it was being charged.
West Deer firefighters said the student bought it at Curtisville Primary Center while shopping at the school’s holiday market.
The mother posted a picture to Facebook, which shows the charred charger of a flashlight. Its wires appear to be singed when it reportedly caught fire after being plugged in. The woman said her daughter bought it for her father two weeks ago, and said that when he plugged it in, it caught fire.
People we spoke with on Monday told Channel 11 they’ve learned to take the necessary precautions when charging electronic devices.
“If I notice it’s getting too hot, sometimes I just unplug it for a little bit, or I’ll set it on my countertop or something, said Kianna Cornell of Monroeville. “I have an 8-year-old little sister, so she could have bought something like that at her school.”
“We don’t have too many concerns about those kinds of devices catching fire. We monitor what our kids do pretty often, almost to the point of anxiety for us, but we feel safer that way,” said Chris Ruggeri, a local parent.
The Lancer Parent Educator Partnership (LPEP) shared a picture of the flashlight on Facebook to let families know about the incident. The organization issued the following statement:
“We have been made aware of a concern involving a rechargeable flashlight that was sold through this year’s Holiday Shop. A family reported an issue with the item while it was charging.
At this time, LPEP is actively reaching out to the Holiday Shop company to notify them of the concern and to request additional information. We are awaiting guidance from the vendor regarding next steps.
“Out of an abundance of caution, we encourage families who purchased rechargeable flashlights from the Holiday Shop to discontinue use of the item until more information is available.
“The safety of our students and families is very important to us. We will share updates as soon as we receive further details from the Holiday Shop company.”
Channel 11 reached out to LPEP and the Deer Lakes School District for information about the flashlight, including the brand and name of the product. As of Monday afternoon, we have not received a response.
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