Romeo’s portable charger has reported another incident of self-ignition causing burn injuries. A netizen posted that their friend’s Romeo portable charger suddenly caught fire while being carried, resulting in third-degree burns on the thigh, requiring skin graft surgery costing tens of thousands of yuan.
According to the netizen’s post, on the afternoon of the 22nd, while walking with a friend, they suddenly saw a puff of black smoke floating in front of them. They then noticed that their friend’s pants were on fire, and the fire kept growing. With no water on hand, and the friend unable to retrieve the charger from the pocket, the charger burnt through the pocket, eventually falling out.
“Shocked, I quickly had my friend go to the mall’s second floor to cool the wound with cold water while I stayed at the scene taking photos and videos. The firefighters arrived upon seeing the smoke and used fire extinguishers and cold water to put out the fire, at least five minutes, but the battery kept reacting, continually emitting smoke,” the netizen said.
The netizen mentioned that their friend’s left thigh was charred black, with blisters covering the knee. Upon visiting the hospital, the doctor diagnosed it as a third-degree burn, necessitating skin graft surgery, estimated at around 30,000 to 40,000 yuan. If seeking compensation from Romeo, it would have to be fully self-funded, with additional expenses likely for recovery. The friend contacted both Taobao’s official customer service and Romeo’s portable charger, but “both are passing the buck, Taobao’s customer service says to contact Romeo, while Romeo says there are many inquiries ahead and then read without reply.”
According to the post, the friend’s portable charger is a recalled model, though not from a recalled batch, and the highest temperature on that afternoon was 33℃, not excessively hot.
On the 23rd, the poster, Ms. Yuan (pseudonym), told Ziniu News that the charger that caught fire was a 20,000 mAh dual-line fast charging model purchased from Romeo’s official flagship store in October last year. At the time of self-ignition, the charger was not in use and showed no signs of swelling, with its appearance and condition being normal.
Following the incident, Ms. Yuan accompanied her friend to the burn emergency room at Shanghai Ruijin Hospital. Due to large area burns on the left leg, the doctor confirmed it as a third-degree burn and scheduled skin graft surgery for the 24th, with an estimated cost of approximately 30,000 to 40,000 yuan.
Medical records from the burn emergency room at Shanghai Ruijin Hospital indicate that the victim experienced burning pain for 40 minutes on the left lower limb, with “portable charger” listed as the cause of the burn.
Ms. Yuan stated that they have contacted Romeo’s official flagship store customer service and provided photos and other relevant evidence. The customer service personnel replied that further feedback was required.
In response, Ziniu News reporters made repeated calls to Romeo’s official website customer service phone, with no answer. The Romeo flagship store staff mentioned that the company is currently monitoring the situation, verifying the relevant details, and contacting the corresponding consumers for follow-up.