Child’s book starts fire in mom’s minivan

A child’s book was to blame for a fire that damaged a mother’s minivan in North Carolina, fire officials said.

Destiny Williams and her daughter Misty had returned from church and had been home for 20 minutes when a neighbor noticed smoke coming from the van. A family member grabbed a hose and put the fire out. No one was hurt, WSOC reported.

Burke County firefighters said the lithium battery in the child’s book overheated and caused the fire that burned the car seat. The book, which had electronic components that made sound, was left between the car seat and the van’s seat.

“When the fire marshal came and confirmed it was from a lithium battery from a child’s book, I was honestly shocked and surprised,” Williams’ husband Pressley Williams told WSOC.

“The world itself is moving to lithium batteries, which propose some of these troubles to the fire service,” Chief Bobby Craig from the George Hildebran Fire and Rescue told WSOC. “I don’t know if there is — other than keeping them cool — that there is any precautions.”

In addition to the car seat being damaged, the interior of the van was also burned in the fire, causing thousands of dollars in damages, firefighters said.

The company that made the book, Cottage Door Press, released a statement that read: “Our electronic children’s books, which have sold millions of units without incident, use alkaline batteries, not lithium-ion batteries. We are relieved that no one was injured and are working closely with local officials and experts to determine the cause of this incident.”

The fire department said it is keeping the car seat for training purposes, WSOC reported.

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