In a family outing in Zunyi City, Guizhou Province, a forgotten cell phone charger caused a fire that completely destroyed their home and also affected the neighbors.
On April 12, 2025, a family in Zunyi experienced a severe fire at their home because they forgot to unplug the cell phone charger before leaving.
A video released by Daxiang News on April 17 showed a woman stating, “Because our whole family went out, the charger was left plugged in, causing the fire. Everything has been completely lost.”
The woman reminded everyone at the end, “When going out, always remember to unplug the charger from the outlet.”
According to a disclosure on April 18 by legal professionals in China, the downstairs neighbors were also affected by the fire. The family is required to bear the costs of repairing the neighbor’s house, damage to property, and temporary accommodation, totaling more than 90,000 yuan (RMB).
This revelation sparked heated discussions among netizens, with many believing that a small oversight not only left themselves homeless, but also harmed others, causing such significant losses which left people both angry and helpless.
Some netizens pointed out that this could be due to the poor quality of the charger.
Netizen “月光酋長” believed, “The reason lies in the poor quality of the socket, poor quality charger, and it’s not really about whether it was unplugged or not. The online market is flooded with 60W fast chargers that cost only 2.5 yuan, and using such chargers without causing a fire is considered lucky.”
On April 18, a spokesperson from Populus disclosed that the surveillance showed that the charger in question had poor contact leading to a virtual connection phenomenon. Fire department experimental data indicated that even if not connected to a phone, a poor quality charger can reach temperatures of over 40°C when constantly powered, while poor wiring during overload can exceed 100°C. This “hidden fire hazard” is often overlooked – when the phone shows it’s charging but the battery level doesn’t increase, most people choose to leave it plugged in rather than unplugging it. More concerning is that plug aging-induced short circuits can ignite surrounding combustible materials within an average of only 2 hours. An investigation revealed that over 60% of respondents have the habit of leaving chargers plugged in, thinking that “unplugging and plugging back in is a hassle.” This kind of mentality contributes to charging devices becoming a new type of “time bomb”. Data indicates that in 2024 alone, fires caused by charging incurred property losses exceeding 3 billion yuan nationwide in China.
Netizen “heartliao999” reminded everyone, “Buy official genuine chargers, don’t opt for cheap alternatives in this regard.”