Samsung Battery Plant Caught Fire, Firefighters Point To Faulty Batteries As Cause of Blaze [Video]
ByIt would seem fire and Samsung will never mix. In a bizarre twist of fate, Samsung affiliate, Samsung SDI, which produces batteries for Samsung, and the same company that produced batteries for the incendiary Galaxy Note 7 caught fire.
According to reports, the fire is minor and was immediately put out. Reuters reported that the fire broke out Wednesday at Samsung SDI Co Ltd factory in Tianjin, China . In an odd coincidence, faulty batteries and waste products reportedly caused the fire. No casualties or injuries were reported and no impact to the plant's operations was hampered.
The facility is an area of the plant used for waste, which includes faulty batteries, according to Samsung SDI spokesperson Shin Young-doo.
However, according to the local fire department, posting on their microblog, stated that the cause of the blaze was the batteries inside the facility, reported The Sydney Morning Herald. Reports said that lithium batteries, including some half-finished products, caught fire.
The Wuqing branch of the Tianjin Fire Department posted the report in their verified Sina Weibo account. Additionally, the department sent out 110 firefighters and 19 fire trucks to put out the fire.
No matter the cause, the news is not the kind of news Samsung and its customers would want to hear. The company is still reeling from the Galaxy Note 7 debacle, and it still has to redeem itself starting with their latest smartphone offerings, which are expected to be unveiled at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2017.
Samsung does not need another battery related fire to remind customers of the incendiary Galaxy Note 7 over the past few months. Additionally, the impact is greater considering the fire is reported where the faulty Note 7 battery originated.
Furthermore, Samsung SDI along with a Japan's Murata is set to supply batteries for Samsung's upcoming flagship smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S8. The S8 touted to replace the Galaxy Note 7, which suffered horribly, after a global recall, twice last year due to faulty batteries.
