When the lithium-ion battery in the notebook of School Counselor Eric Kostecki malfunctioned recently, it was not a simple case of not getting enough charge to the laptop.
Quite the opposite, Kostecki’s battery exploded and set the butcher block in his kitchen on fire. Unable to dowse the flames completely, even after using two fire extinguishers, Kostecki had to throw the laptop outside into the snow to prevent further damage to the interior of his house.
Kostecki’s experience with the faulty laptop battery was covered in a news segment on WMUR and serves as a warning for others to check if the battery in their laptop is part a nationwide recall by HP dating back to last year. This recall has now has been expanded to over 101,000 units.
The best way to ensure your safety is to remove your laptop battery, check its model and serial number, and contact HP for a replacement if indicated. In the meantime, run your laptop off AC power with the battery removed.
