An Apple Store from Amsterdam had to be evacuated over the past weekend, after an iPad battery exploded and 3 people had health problems because of it. They had breathing problems and had to be treated by doctors.
The Apple Store in question is situated in Amsterdam’s Leidseplein and it all happened the past Saturday. The Dutch media writes that the three people affected were all shop staff and they were treated by ambulance workers at the scene. The fire brigade had to evacuate the building for a short period of time. The device was kept in a bucket of sand before the authorities were on the scene.
Fire officers suspect that the battery had began to leak and then exploded, but oddly enough no smoke was released. For those keeping count, it seems it’s the third evacuation of an Apple Store because of an exploding battery, with the other two pertaining to iPhones. Such “thermal events” happened in Switzerland and Spain this year and the one in Zurich cause the person some minor burns.
Apple uses Li-Ion batteries for its products, which are compact and reliable usually. They are still prone to some fires and explosions if the the polypropylene layer that stops electrodes from touching is penetrated or broken. Overheating of the electrolyte may also happen. We’re dealing with Apple Store gear here, meaning products which are stuck in the presentation mode for hours on end, which puts strain on the battery and components.
Hopefully, such incidents will stop as Apple maybe finds a new battery tech for its future devices.
