They're not just idiots about the Xbox thing. They were idiots about not getting proper insurance coverage. Things could've been far worse for them not even Xbox related. They run a cafe. Food place means a chance for fires if someone is an idiot there. If the cafe went up in flames, their apartment would've been affected too. And it sounds like their insurance would not have covered the apartment in that case either.

It sounds like they're both idiots and cheapskates, trying to only pay for insurance for the business so their insurance premium is lower. But insurance premiums for apartments is actually not that bad and is definitely worth it. I mean, it's where you frickin' live. You want to make sure that's protected in case something happens.

...but people who lived in New Orleans, in a place that's below sea level and is prone to flooding as history shows, didn't think about that either.

TeamSakuraKC

@juscallmeweasel: until...

That sucks though. i hate the gamble of insurance.

Shockadin

@Anton P. Nym:

Well at least the 360s just die from overheat now, rather than keep running and burn down the house!

:-p

EnigmaNemesis

@kakihara: And some computers and consoles can even be left turned on indefinitely with the ventillation holes covered by flammable material. Of course only the huge Xbox would catch fire after overheating for four days in the presence of kindling. Curses, Microsoft, for your shoddy design! When will you learn!

*Sheesh.*

-- Steve

Anton P. Nym

hows about the guy stop playing halo 2 for once, the worst game in the world.

acekrn

@taftsearlobe33: didn't the xbox have a harddrive for this very reason?

belo

@Shabadage: plus ms have the mmost badass lawyer in the world

holybarbie

hehe FIRE well dumb person shouldn't of left it on, it is in the manual after all

holybarbie

Yeah, they'd never win that lawsuit. We have save funtions now, there's no longer an excuse to leave your console on for days.

Shabadage

Officials still can't figure out why anyone turned the Xbox on in the first place.

Toastbusters

@smcallah: I would recommend punching cards but see, they are made out of cardboard.

MOP88

I'm going to go leave the oven on in my house and sue the oven company when my house burns down.

Rhawb

I blame people NOT dusting there Xbox's from the attic and EA for making Madden 09 for the Xbox. You know I'm right.

dadeisvenm

@taftsearlobe33: Maybe they could use a 24 character code system.

smcallah

who still has an original xbox still plugged in

Alchemy_Comrade

When will microsoft learn if they would just add a way for people to save their progress in a game so they can turn it off this will never happen.

taftsearlobe33

hhhmmmm well at least its a microsoft sad story and doesnt deal with a rrod. well now maybe some people will learn that electronics need rest too

EVIL_V2

Fire Chief Jim Harmes has shown us the way,
"If you're not using it, turn that shit off!"

4 Days? Jeez, why would you leave an Xbox on for so long? Maybe a huge patch or something.

Katajero

It sucks that this happened, but then again they did it to themselves.

boringjob2

God damn, that's really really close to me.

Bunch of idiots if you ask me.

Sheen_Latrine

please don't defend people that don't understand adult responsibilty and how dangerous objects can be if not used properly. Leaving an xbox on for days with a notebook on it is asking for trouble. Hopefully lesson learned though.

I feel bad for them too. But I would never do that.

Grumpz®

Some consoles and computers can be left on for that long. The HUGE xbox is probably one of the few that can't. Not entirely their fault they were not up on the details.

kakihara

Man I haven't seen the original Xbox controller since...I had one! That thing is PHAT!'

I still haven't sent in my power cord for a replacement, but I leave my 360, not my Xbox, on for days at a time.

Thassodar

4 days and a notebook on it. Why are pp so dumb?

Acumen13

@aznguyen316: if you registered it, you should have got an email, it was only recalled as a precaution, it was never found to actually cause a fire

juscallmeweasel

It's unfortunate, but they actually thought about suing Microsoft for this? Give me a break. It's their own damn fault.

LittleBigPlaneteer

wait when was this power cord recalled? I have an xbox, I don't play much anymore but surely older than 2003. Anyone know how I can obtain a new one? 1800-4myxbox? or what thanks!

aznguyen316

I feel bad for the family, giving that it must suck to lose most everything you had over something as trivial as leaving a game console on.

Kinda makes you think about if you have an automated electrical system in your home...

Soldier_CLE

duh

kamfair55

...SHIT.

ViewtifulJason

My brother does this. For hours and days. When I see it, I have to resist the urge to strangle him.

Sucks about the insurance. OCD is a good thing when you don't have full coverage. Better safe than sorry.

BobDelli

it's in the manual. sucks, but tough luck.

Lanhoj

This sucks. Burnt down house is a loss that is really never gotten over. But like the manual says, turn the damn thing off. And if it was the power-cord that had a recall. Didn't take advantage of it? Don't blame lolsoft.

moe84

This is microsoft's fault, just like it's their fault that kid shot himself recreating Halo.

thegreatseal

I once won a wrestling tournament in Clio. Their high school colors invoke memories of Halloween (orange and black).

And that's all I've got to say about thay-at.

KaneRobot

@kakihara:
"Not entirely their fault they were not up on the details."

It's entirely their fault.

heretrix

Didn't this happen a couple years ago as well? May have been the cause for the recall on the chords if i'm not mistaken.

thistimeXitswar

@kakihara: Actually, it is ENTIRELY their own fault. Basic common sense would tell you not to leave something like an Xbox on for four days with a laptop sitting on top of it. I'm amazed that they even slightly considered suing M$. It is unfortunate for the family, but really, its all their own fault for not using electronics responsibly or having insurance for their apt.

TheGuilty1

If you can't afford insurance, physically beat into your kid to at least save the ELECTRICITY BILL. For a low-income household, they are not very good at being thrifty.

PsycheE

Yeh sue MS. Oh also sue the power company for that HUGE bill last month. Atta boy.

Jing_ta

No wonder they're so poor, they leave their electronics on all the time.

RetroBob

Sorry, I don't buy it. It would have had to reach 451 degrees in order to cause the paper to ignite. Most likely it was the recalled power cord that did it.

Rectangle

@TeamSakuraKC: For some, that apartment insurance premium is about 2 weeks worth of food.

As for people in the NO, the people that were most heavily affected were poor people who lived in sub-standard living conditions. I don't think "Insurance" was important to them when they were starving already...

Affluent people and their misconceptions about how every can afford everything...
(Goes back to counting his gold coins Scrooge McDuck style...)

Gummyworm

@Thassodar: you, sir, are looking for some RROD

BlueGeek

As someone who has just survived a fire in the home. Insurance, as painful as it is, is a must.

Feel terrible for the kid that left it on.

huginn

@Rectangle: Or the components overheating/melting. The fire didn't have to start with the paper. Electronics are good at that on their own.

ViperBorg

"If you're not using it, turn it off,"

Wha. . . Thats crazy talk.

Sniper_Zegai

Alchemy_Comrade: "who still has an original xbox still plugged in"

They did... but not anymore.

@Shin-san: Yeah, but not the original Xbox.

ViperBorg

-don't have insurance
-wasting electricity
-wasting money
-using recalled products
-not reading manuals
-blocking heat ventilation ... with paper!

...any other reasons the people in question are kindof dumb?

Rajio

Just think. Consoles are being used for more things nowadays like watching movies and even Folding@Home.

Shin-san

Maybe the hard-drive died on their system so they couldn't save anymore?

I don't know, I can't think of any good reason for leaving a system on that long. It's just not good for the system if nothing else.

captainapplesauce

Man that's really, REALLY shitty! Video game systems heat up real quick and it seems that people don't realize just how hot it can get around the thing...

It sucks that their insurance isn't paying for apartment damage... but at least they're paying for the damage to the business.

Were I a more organized person (and perhaps someone on here is) I'd suggest we take some donations and see if we can't collect some money for these people.

2NinjasTapedTogether

@stereoa:
Do you pay your power bill? Jeez, I'd hate to see it. Also, it may last a long time even if left on, but leaving it on all the time will wear it down faster than if you turned it off, not to mention save you power and money... The silicone fluid between the video and core processing units will eventually dry out and begin to crack, creating gaps of the units not having heat transferred away from itself, causing loss of performance, instability issues, and eventually irreparable damage. Won't be covered under warranty either, because they can tell by looking at that blackened, cracked silicone exactly what you did. ;). Used to work at a repair shop for electronic devices.

Anyway, this story really is sad, but it just should be common sense to not block airways for heat dispersion. They operate a cafe? Do they have the vents to their stove or ovens blocked? You'd think semi-educated people like that would have known, but I suppose it was a kid that left it on. I hope.

kRaSh32

@Atsumi: Or just not changing the setting that turns off your Xbox after 4 hours.

You know...
Just a thought.

ViperBorg

Because they'd totally win the lawsuit using the recalled power cord. :p

Atsumi

The good side is, Microsoft probably saved a lot of money not installing thermal switches in all those Xboxes. Every smoke cloud has a silver lining.

xot

Common sense would have been nice in this case.

ez054098

I bet the fire was huge like xbox

/going straight to hell

Shykin

You can't GET the new cables now. I tried for an Xbox about 3 months ago and it cost me £10 to find this out. And they're fire risks.

Overlord44

"XBox Blamed for Burning Down Home"

Firefighters say the console was left on for as long as four days with a notebook possible blocking its air vents. The original Xbox...wait....read the first sentence again...?

Ah, I see..we made a mistake.

"Homeowner Blamed for Not Being Cautious"

It's like that Dane Cook (jesus christ am I really using HIM as a reference..?) joke, "Why did you stop at that red light and let me hit you going 80?!" Shitty joke, but same thing.

"Why did your console that generates heat burn down my house after I left it on for 4 days and blocked it's only airway with a notebook?!"

Mesren_Makai

I haven't turned my original xbox off for 4 months! I think I have the new cord though. My xbox 360 won't stay on for 4 hours because every time I've left it on while going to sleep it's off in the morning. My ps3 has never been purposely turned off, it's a champ at cooling itself and will run for months just fine.

stereoa

That's one story with no redeeming qualities.

Alphavillain

"The family said they considered suing Microsoft for the fire, but can't afford the legal fees and are afraid they may not win."

Ha! That 'trial' would last all of 5 seconds. They didn't even follow the recall. There's a reason they have those.

sircuddles

@stereoa: "My xbox 360 won't stay on for 4 hours because every time I've left it on while going to sleep it's off in the morning."

You probably have the "auto shut off after 6 hours" option turned on!

Rectangle

@Gummyworm: They owned a cafe. I mean, if they were really starving that bad they could've just eaten for free at the cafe they owned.

dowingba

@stereoa: You, sir, are an idiot.

I don't mean that in a rude way, but I sure hope to god that the people in the article have taught you something about leaving your shit on for days on end.

It's just not smart. Anything could happen. Did you know power cords can overheat as well? It's not only the console that can cause a problem, and leaving one on for MONTHS can seriously heat your power cord. Have any paper nearby and your home suddenly turns to ash.

I mean, I guess you can leave your stuff on. It's not a sin or anything, but is it really worth the possibility that your house will burn down? I don't think so.

Apparatus Ex Somnium Design

moral of the story?

upgrade to a 360 or bill gates and jerry sienfield will burn your house down!

if_deez

The fire chief is blaming the Xbox...? He' probably a PS fanboy.

;)

RockerX

Wow, how the next gen changes. OG Xbox causes fires from overheating. My 360 gets fixed (no video issue) by wrapping it in towels and overheating it.

strix

"The family said they considered suing Microsoft for the fire" Please, don't even waste your time or money trying. There was a recall and you failed to act and you had it on for four days with air vents blocked, you wouldn't even make it to a court room.

Quicksilver4648

Obviously it's the spiral notebook's fault. Darn things are practically just paper.

Pezdispenser

@stereoa: Check your settings. You have the auto-off feature enabled.

robinandtami

Could be argued that this was a manufacturing defect. One of the psus that MS went with for early xbox models (Foxlink, I think?) were notorious for this. Plugging and unplugging the ac cable over and over would wear down some of the solder points on the psu to the point that they would disconnect. The gap would cause them to arc and possibly smoke.

The new "power cable" MS sent out does absolutely nothing to fix that problem. Instead, it is a ground fault interrupter that is designed to trip and cut the power AFTER the psu starts to arc.

I think all the later xbox models used Delta psus which didn't suffer from the same design issues.

megahurtz

@sircuddles:

Car companies in the 80's were sued, and lost even though they had a recall for exploding gas tanks.

EnigmaNemesis

RENTERS INSURANCE. Costs practically nothing, covers what you specify. I feel bad about what happened but come on people, INSURE YOUR SHIT!!

Sparky13

It was left on for 4 days
AND
the air vents were blocked
AND
it had the defective power cord

Lessons 1, 2, and 3 on how to burn your house down?

Shavo

I'm guessing their next console will come from Sony or Nintendo.

I wonder why it was on for so long. I could see them keeping it on in the winter as a space heater, but I doubt they were doing some kind of marathon gaming session.

gr8asianman

@Quicksilver4648:

Thanks Matlock ... anyhow .. if people can sue for spilling coffee on themselves, then this is more than a case.

MSFT would have to prove they were thorough enough to spread the word of the recall, where it hit enough people, and as megahurtz said, the recall did NOT change the design flaw which is dangerous and can be proven.

EnigmaNemesis

But the real question remains, does it still play halo?

redice

@juscallmeweasel: My first XBox (bought in 2002) malfunctioned after 2 years (the power supply inside fried), but it didn't catch fire. Bought another one using the fat PS2 and the defective XBox as a trade-in and shaved $115 off the price (at that time EBGames were allowing 30 bucks trade for broken XBoxes). MS did send me a new plug (^_^) and the 2nd XBox is still hale and hearty, outlasting my first 360...

relic1980

The headline shoulda read: 'Microsoft burns yet another customer"

SnakesSolids

Yeah, I agree with the general consensus; it sucks that it happened to them, but they didn't exactly take steps to prevent it.

GhostWhoWalks

@Sparky13:

Or at least have some common sense.

NESSter

you can only be so stupid to leave an xbox on for 4 days along with that blocking the heat ventilation and you better think about getting INSUREANCE NEXT TIME

Unbreakable669

Microsoft should still receive most of the blame for this. Even though the XBOX was left on for days on out with the vent hole blocked, you would think Microsoft would have built in a auto shutoff if it overheated. Almost every computer nowadays or even back then shuts off when over heating to certain temperature. It can't be that hard to build in one safety mechanism for any console. Power cord or not, it shows how much the MS family cares.

titlecade

@TheGuilty1: Who said there was a laptop sitting on top of it?

Kymeira

@rbee90: It burns, burns, burns.

Toastbusters

Fire Chief? More like Master Chief!

Who's with me here?

Toastbusters

the ultimate RROD...or the RED RING OF FIRE....bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

rbee90

@Pezdispenser: I would personally like to see the family sue Mead. Why the hell not?

Señor Vorpal Kickass'o

@stereoa:

You'll be sorry when the internal fans stop working.

CCCombobreaker

This happened in my hometown...

and I'm not surprised one bit.

nlangan

that's the first, and only, time that the xbox will ever be "on fire".

MysteriousStranger

Unfortunate, but lesson learned.

Wolfers

They had it on for three days with a notebook covering the fan exhaust? Sounds like they were trying to burn their house down.

Lightguy

That thing must have producing A LOT of heat for it to go up in flames. You think they would have noticed it before hand....

yanipheonu

If it was a 360 it would have gotten the RRoD at 2 days. If it was a PS3 it would have burned down everything at 2 days. But if it was a Wii it wouldnt have even been turned on.

HELLSRIDER

American craftsmanship at its finest! Too bad the 360 is such a great system but a poorly built cheap piece of shit hardware.

DontTouchMyDaughterYouFilthyGaijin

"The family said they considered suing Microsoft for the fire..."

Only in America could you leave a piece of electrical equipment running for 4 days, WITH a recalled powercord no less, and still consider suing somebody else for your stupidity. Looks good on them.

Mistakes lead to learning.

Annex1

4 days? Why would you do that? Man, talk about stupid.

.em.

@Annex1:

And only in America, can you make faulty products that are dangerous, and still get FCC approval to sell them.

EnigmaNemesis

@EnigmaNemesis: THEY BLOCKED THE VENTS WITH A NOTEBOOK AND LEFT IT ON FOR FOUR DAYS!

justhesh

They might as well have squirted lighter fluid on the Xbox and lit a match, then considered suing Microsoft for the fire.

justhesh

@EnigmaNemesis: Bullshit. I can render pretty much any safe product harmful through gross negligence of use instructions.

Carl Everett's Fossil Collection

Maybe the Notebook was for storing friend codes for the Wii he had right next to it?

Ario Reads Kotaku, Seems Pleased

@EnigmaNemesis: You mean the Ford Pinto? Rear end collisions would cause the gas tank to rupture.

dadeisvenm

damn, I leave me mine on 24/7, it runs XBMC center and serves up music/movies/TV.

Of course I have mine in a entertainment ceneter with nothing blocking it it and I don't mess with the plug in an effort to prevent the sparking issue from loose contacts.

silentbob343

I was just about to send this story in!! It happened like 30 miles from my house. The sad part (if you read the entire article) is the 11 year old boy suffers from autism and is having a difficult time understanding how this happened from his video game console. When the reporter asked the mother if her son will be allowed a replacement video game console she replied, "I'm not sure".

Level9Unicorn

Since the XBox manual does note not to leave the system on for excessive periods of time, maybe they should consider suing the manufacturer of that damn notebook... Where was the warning label on that?!

"WARNING - THIS SHIT WILL BURN"

Now that would be something....

Nyarlethotep_45

@HELLSRIDER:

HAHAHAHAHAHA

Xero_Azmea

Oh yeah? make a stamp dangerous.

dadeisvenm

@dadeisvenm: Leave the stamp on a bench, then spill some insecticide on the same bench while loading a sprayer. Insecticide permeates the glue of the stamp. Upon licking the stamp, you get poisoned.

*ta-da!* Now you can sue the USPS for their unsafe product!

-- Steve

Anton P. Nym

What kind of fool leaves an Xbox on for FOUR days with a NOTEBOOK on it? Jeez. Just plain DUMB. And then they have the audacity to sue someone else for their idiocy...

:|

Cryterra

At least they got rid of the roaches

Malevolentburrito

my first hard modded xbox lit up... my garage filled with smoke in 2 sec. i bet evox or xbmc was involved with a chip poorly installed

nme

@Alchemy_Comrade:

Me! Orig. XBOXs still have life left in them, not to mention the NUMEROUS fun things they can do outside of their normal game-playing use ;p

OrionnoirO

@Level9Unicorn: he's autistic shit, despite the fire starter combo.... this family needs a lot of help, hope the community steps up to help.

nme

They were 'considering' suing Microsoft? They need to 'consider' getting some common sence first.

Muffin_Man

@kakihara: Ignorance is not a excuse.

Mr.DuckSauce

@EnigmaNemesis: Get off your high horse! Stop trying to be the saviour of the little guy by defending sheer STUPIDITY!

CerberusXTX

I saw this on my local news channel about a week ago, and was going to send in a tip but I couldn't find any article on it. Should have known to check the Journal. Anyways, sucks that it happened.

SolidEyeSystem

I have to admit, I leave my PS3 on for a full day because the games take so damn long to load.
But god damn; 4 days? why would you need a game console on for 4 days? I can understand if you were downloading something that was taking forever....

khdownes

News Headlines:
Xbox Catches Fire, Kotaku Readers Amused.
Sympathy nowhere to be found with homeowners to blame

I find the comments quite amusing today. ^^

And yes, the family was completely at fault. I tend to leave my electronics on, but I always ensure that the area is temperature-controlled constantly and that there are no burnables hanging around... especially on the air intakes/exhaust.

Kortir

@DontTouchMyDaughterYouFilthyGaijin: That isn't made in America...

relic1980

The power of the xbox is great, don't fuck or it'll burn yo shit down

Mendoza68

Normally I would be sympathetic, but they left it on for days at a time in a badly insulated area using a defective power cord? Are they really that ignorant? No way they should win a case for this, and I hope they take this as a lesson to be more observant of safety precautions that could have been used to easily prevent this.

Xenigma

That's really unfortunate, but sueing Microsoft would solve nothing.

Too many errors done.
Leaving the X-Box on? Ok, not so bad.
Leaving it on with a notebook blocking the ventilation? Bad.

Now, the main problem for them is obviously loosing the whole house because it wasn't insured: their own fault.

Microsoft has in their favor: All the guidelines on the console manual stating how long it could remain on and all the advices to let air vents unblocked.

So, this isn't exactly Microsoft's fault, since several other electronic devices could end up in the same situation in similar conditions... like an amplifier, or home theater system.

Bokusatsu_Tenshi

Recalled power cable? Check.

Left on for four days? Check.

Spiral Notebook blocking air vents? Check.

Being a fucktard? Check.

These people are idiots for doing this, I have absolutely no sympathy for them if they did something like this.

HellTempest

@belo: here's the article he was referencing

DrunkenTrom

They must have a vendetta against Microsoft now, first the xbox, then the laptop housing Vista?!? Blood Feud!

NeVeRMoRe666

Dang! Microsoft should send this poor family a brand new 360 pronto!

*laughs*

NeVeRMoRe666

I still have the original XBox cord...

But then again... I hate Xbox and never play~
So there's no chance of my house burning downXD

(That and I at least have enough common sense not to leave a game system on that long or surround it with spiral note books? It sounds like something a 90 year old grandma would do... forgetting the game was on while she went to feed her cats... But then again I wonder what a 90 year old grandma would be playing on Xbox... Its Nintendo trying to brain wash themO.o)

Bluesnow222

Ahhhhh that pic! Look at The Duke! Oh how beautiful she was! I miss her deeply.

Juthan

Who would know this kind of things could happen to you?

Dogswithguns

@LittleBigPlaneteer: You are totally totally right, there is no reason for them to even TRY to sue Microsoft, especially when it was there own fault for having the console on for four damn days.

Tycoon

I've seen one start billowing smoke out the back after being on for a couple of days, fully vented.

Had that nice "electronic parts melting" smell.

mcfc98

@BobDelli:

I don't really see how 'OCD' equates with 'Turning shit off'...

LiquidDarsh

DOH!

PITwelve

Wow 4 days... did they ever hear of the on/off buttom?

Bomberkael

One thing's for sure, that family isn't buying any X360 anytime soon. The insurance part sucks though.

gencid

dude the same thing happened to me when i was playing xbox it was on my carpet floor in my room and all the suddenly there was an itty bitty fire happened when playing halo 2 on live for a full day

Jonnyyboy