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Xbox burns down a house after being left on for several days, family surprised photo

Apparently a family in Michigan didn’t get the memo that the original Xbox runs fairly hot (like its big brother) and possesses a power cord that can cause fires. Subsequently, the eight-pound console has toasted their house and business.

The fire started on August 25 as a result of a son who forgot to turn off his console and decided that the best place for his notebook was right next to the Xbox’s ventilation ducts. Firefighters who investigated the scene think that the Xbox could have been on in the family’s basement for as long as four days before igniting the notebook.

The family wasn’t privy to the fact that Microsoft had recalled all of its previous power cords, and initially wanted to seek damages against the company. After checking out what a legal battle would cost, they’ve decided that just putting their lives together after this disaster is enough punishment. When asked by MLive if they would buy their son a new Xbox, the mother said, “I’m really not sure.”

At least now there are grounds to ask for an upgrade.


Continue: More Microsoft stories





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33 comments | showing # 1 to 33

brainderailment's Avatar
brainderailment at 09/06/2008 12:10
Hopefully she doesn't buy him a new ecksbawks, the new one is even hotter.
Of course people leave computers on for years at a time, so why should they think an xbox is any different?
HairyMike87's Avatar
HairyMike87 at 09/06/2008 12:15
That's horrible. I knew the 360 got hot, but not that hot.
Blind assassin's Avatar
Blind assassin at 09/06/2008 12:17
What kind of asshole would ask these people if they planned on getting a new Xbox after they burned their house down?

It bothers me that everyone goes right to "Oh sit, lets sue" after anything happens to them. If this was 6-7 years ago then they might have had a case but what happened was entirely their fault.
Direlect's Avatar
Direlect at 09/06/2008 12:28
MLive.com, I congratulate your awe-inspiring display of tact.
ThunderHeartXI's Avatar
ThunderHeartXI at 09/06/2008 12:28
How the HELL can they not tell that the Xbox was on? Even my original Xbawks I can hear from downstairs when it's running. My 360 is even louder with the external fan I bought.
linuxguy's Avatar
linuxguy at 09/06/2008 12:35
Now I get it the RROD is a failsafe mesure.
Emrah's Avatar
Emrah at 09/06/2008 12:41
"what happened was entirely their fault."

I don't think this is true.
mix's Avatar
mix at 09/06/2008 12:42
Well the nice thing about this story is that they will end up saving $50 a year by not paying to play online....AMIRITE?

I just had to.

@brainderailment

You have a great point!
My computer has been on for about a month and I do the odd reboot now and then so leaving a console on, especially when downloading things should be fine to do.
I left my PS3 on for about 18 hours while I had a huge skew of things to DL and went to work and what not and all was good.

Sucks for the family though and hopefully they had fire insurance!
tgammet's Avatar
tgammet at 09/06/2008 12:47
"You just lost your home, ready to buy a new Xbox?"

MLive, classy...
Corak's Avatar
Corak at 09/06/2008 12:52
Definatly sucks for them. I'm surprised there isn't some failsafe, besides the rrod :), to prevent something like this. I thought most PCs would shut down automatically to prevent damage when they reached a certain temperature, or maybe that was the processor. I guess the 360 doesn't have this? Boo.
Sharpless's Avatar
Sharpless at 09/06/2008 12:57
@HairyMike
It was an original Xbox, not an Xbox 360. Also, every time I've had my friend's 360 on for long periods of time, it honestly doesn't get that hot. I've also never noticed my old Xbox getting that hot, but it sounds like it was the faulty power chord, and four days is quite a while. Tragic.
Cheeburga's Avatar
Cheeburga at 09/06/2008 13:12
Family is retarded for several years. World not surprised.
ninjikiran's Avatar
ninjikiran at 09/06/2008 13:16
It doesn't really get hot enough to cost a fire on its own but having a notebook next to it? Over that many days is literally playing with fire. I mean paper is very dry, and thats sort of how natural forest fires start, very dry bushs or dead leaves and other flauna then after some hours sitting in a hot hot sun it just starts to spark up.
randombullseye's Avatar
randombullseye at 09/06/2008 13:48
Achievement Unlocked. Burn your house down. 5 GS
Syn's Avatar
Syn at 09/06/2008 13:54
That's a burn about a burn
That's a second degree burn!
Blind assassin's Avatar
Blind assassin at 09/06/2008 15:02
@emrah
How is blocking the ventilation area with a notebook and then leaving the system on for 4 days not their own fault? The result was unfortunate but Microsoft was in no way liable.
Horatio Caine's Avatar
Horatio Caine at 09/06/2008 15:35
They have settings for auto shutdown if there's no activity. Using it is a priority now.
Brad Nicholson's Avatar
Brad Nicholson at 09/06/2008 15:56
Guys, it's an original Xbox. I had the bit at the beginning to help talk about the how hot I think Microsoft's consoles run. I removed that first sentence to make this article more concise.

Sorry for any confusion.
Kalmah's Avatar
Kalmah at 09/06/2008 16:13
Let me put this pack of matches right next to the vent. Next to that I will leave a propane tank and next to that some fireworks.
VashTS's Avatar
VashTS at 09/06/2008 16:13
Original xbox + faulty powered cord = owners fault.
They must not have known about the new power cord that Msoft is giving out for free.
Clyde's Avatar
Clyde at 09/06/2008 16:43
now the notebook was next to the vent no over it and most likely not blocking it. Shit like that happen with electronic (I've seen a tv receiver burst in flame cause a cat was sleeping over it and over the course of months the cats hair would accumulate and burnt at some point).

There might have been a recall for the power cord but sometimes it's impossible to reach everyone. Since there was a recall I assume that it would the family's fault but given microsoft status it would be in their advantage to step ahead and offer a form of undisclosed compensation
The Grudge's Avatar
The Grudge at 09/06/2008 16:52
This situation is sad. I don't think it is entirely their fault or at least with the information given that we can be certain to it. It was said before, recalls don't always get to the ears of all owners and sadly this may have been the case. Who knows? Faulty hardware was faulty. I have plenty of electronics that I can leave on for countless hours and the worst thing I will incur is a higher than normal electrical bill
whormongr's Avatar
whormongr at 09/06/2008 17:00
I wouldn't blame the family - like a commenter said- people leave their computer n all of the time, myself included, my computer is on literally all of the time, I use it as a media server and vnc into it when I am at work, so it never goes off- if the xbox was designed better it wouldn't cause a fire, because it would go into a sleep mode. and not just crank heat for days
TrailerParkJesus's Avatar
TrailerParkJesus at 09/06/2008 17:56
I bet the kid just wanted an new system... and a new house?
Blind assassin's Avatar
Blind assassin at 09/06/2008 18:11
@Clyde

Uh, no. Why would Microsoft even have to consider giving them money when they are bulletproof from litigation and they don't even make the product that caused the damage anymore? If it was a 360 there'd be some fallout but they don't need to protect the marketability of something that they aren't marketing.
wardrox's Avatar
wardrox at 09/06/2008 19:30
Microsoft can't make consoles. It's sad and dangerous. I kinda just feel bad for the family.
Clyde's Avatar
Clyde at 09/06/2008 19:58
@Blind Assassin

It's a question of ethic, not caring is the problem, and taking care of that family would represent 0.000001 % of their annual profit.

and even if they don't make the product anymore they are still responsible for defective products.

If the xbox was something more critical you can bet there would be lawsuits
Kyousuke Nanbu's Avatar
Kyousuke Nanbu at 09/06/2008 20:02
@Wardrox

MS can't make consoles? To my knowledge this is the only Xbox related fire in well, ever, not to mention it was the kids fault.

Shame they lost there home.
GrayFox's Avatar
GrayFox at 09/06/2008 21:26
http://gizmodo.com/5046314/the-shocking-inside-story-of-the-epic-defects-that-killed-millions-of-xbox-360s

Sort of related. Really excellent behind the scenes look at the 360 from its conception to right now, why the hardware failed so miserably for so long, and what it cost them both in terms of money and image. Be warned though, it's pretty long.
Crunshii's Avatar
Crunshii at 09/06/2008 23:12
ouch*
Blind assassin's Avatar
Blind assassin at 09/06/2008 23:37
@ Clyde

If Microsoft helped them then they would be admitting fault. It would be a kind of nice thing to do to help the people (though I personally don't think it's necessary at all) but after that every asshole would swarm in and expect money from Microsoft because they opened the door.

Your second point is moot. There already were lawsuits. This isn't a lawsuit because there were already lawsuits over the same thing. Microsoft has already done everything within reason and law to ensure that this wouldn't happen and because this was entirely the fault of the kid with the Xbox Microsoft is not at fault.
Emrah's Avatar
Emrah at 09/07/2008 14:00
@blind assasin: "How is blocking the ventilation area with a notebook and then leaving the system on for 4 days not their own fault? The result was unfortunate but Microsoft was in no way liable."

The family is partly to blame indeed, but it is not *entirely* their fault, that's what I was objecting. Consoles in most places get stuck in a corner on crowded desktops, which may happen to also contain a kid's books or notebooks. It would be nice of a product to endure such conditions.
GohanGVO's Avatar
GohanGVO at 09/07/2008 22:30
Damn. That sucks.

The story spooked me enough to send the cord replacement link to my older brother who still uses the system.
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