Yikes! iPhone 6 Catches Fire After Bending

Just when you thought you had seen all of #bendgate — the iPhone 6's apparent bendiness problem — it gets even worse. An entrepreneur named Phillip Lechter says his bent iPhone caught fire and gave him second-degree burns during a pedicab accident.

In a blog post, Lechter describes being on his way to a football tailgate at the University of Arizona when the pedicab he and his family were riding in tipped over. He was half on, half off the vehicle when the iPhone 6 in his pocket hit the side of the pedicab and bent. Instantly, he felt a burning sensation on his leg but wasn't sure where it was coming from. Then, he remembered the phone.

"The smoke was thick and I quickly laid down to get the APPLE iPhone 6 out of my pocket," he wrote. "The smell was disturbing. I could feel my leg burning. I pulled the Apple iPhone 6 out of my pocket and threw it to the side."

Some bystanders threw water on his leg, others picked up the phone and burnt their fingers, and someone else put ice water on the phone, as you can see in the video above. The best guess as to how this happened is that the bending damaged the battery, which led to the fire. This isn't the first time a smartphone has caught on fire because of battery issues.

Lechter summarized the aftermath of the burning:

"My APPLE iPhone 6 burned through my jeans pocket, through my boxers and significantly burned my leg. In the process of removing the phone from my pocket I also burnt my hip. The Doctor's report described a 11.5 cm x 10.5 cm burn area on my right leg and classified the burn as second degree with first degree burns surrounding the area. According to the doctor, the burn will require cleanliness, antibiotics, and pain management for treatment."

But the result isn't just about physical consequences, writes Lechter, citing interruptions to his business, workouts, family life, and "the 'freak out' factor for all involved."

For more details and (gross) photos of the burn, check out Lechter's full blog post on the incident.