In Burke County, North Carolina, officials have identified a children’s book as the cause of a car fire. The incident occurred when a “button battery” inside the book ignited, setting a child’s car seat ablaze after being left in the vehicle on Sunday, according to the George Hildebran Fire & Rescue Department. Fortunately, the family had exited the car before the fire began.
Destiny Williams and her daughter, Misty, returned home from church that day and went inside their house, Williams recounted to WSOC. Soon after, she noticed smoke billowing from the car. A neighbor managed to extinguish the flames using a garden hose, WSOC reported. Once the fire was controlled, the fire marshal’s office was summoned to the scene, authorities confirmed.
Reflecting on the incident, the girl’s father, Pressley Williams, expressed his profound relief and fear, telling WBTV, “My initial thought about it is: ‘What if it did happen?’ Because I would be without a daughter and a wife if it did happen (with them in the car).”
Among the several items recovered near the damaged car seat, one book was suspected to contain a lithium battery. Such batteries are known to pose fire risks if they overheat, the Burke County Fire Marshal’s Office noted.
