A Canadian couple is preparing to lose their home if Apple refuses to help cover the damages from a house fire caused by a charging iPhone.
Cathy and Ian Finley’s house in British Columbia ignited on October 13, 2016. Closer investigation revealed the fire had been initiated by an overheated apple device.
Cathy had just plugged in her iPhone 6 that October day before she walked out to the family’s farm to feed the goats, she explained to CTV.
Roughly 20 minutes later, she noticed smoke rolling from her house. She was unable to walk inside as the fire had already taken over.
Cathy and Ian Finley, of British Columbia, are demanding Apple help cover the costs in damages left from an October 2016 house fire from an iPhone
The couple since created a change.org petition which received thousands of signatures
Pat Walker, an assistant fire chief, later confirmed the iPhone and charger were located at the fire origin and that ‘no other electrical or heating devices could have contributed’ to the blaze.
Investigators further said that the either the phone or charger sitting on the leather furniture had become much too hot.
‘It would appear that the phone or charger generated enough heat to ignite the leather chair and notebook and start the fire,’ an official said.
Parents-of-two Cathy and Ian have been in a long battle with the company since.
While they received $600,000 from their insurance company, they told CTV the amount hasn’t been sufficient and they still need repairs.
Investigators further said that the either the phone or charger sitting on the leather furniture had become much too hot, and started the fire
Pictures show the charred furniture and walls inside the house in British Columbia, Canada
The couple created the petition demanding the electronics company ‘do the right thing’ and ‘remediate the devastation’ caused by the Apple device
The couple also argued that they were forced to shut down their farm, costing them more money.
‘To be clear, we have closed the farm business for now and borrowed enough money for us to finish rebuilding and stay here for one year,’ the couple wrote in a change.org petition.
The couple created the petition demanding the electronics company ‘do the right thing’ and ‘remediate the devastation’ caused by the Apple device.
Apple said in a statement the company agreed to investigate the matter but have yet to determine whether the device was faulty as it is in possession of the couple’s insurance company.
The iPhone 6 that is said to have started the house fire is pictured above after the blaze
The charger is also pictured after the fire that destroyed the family’s home and farm
‘The cause of the fire is not in question. We have a fire report stating that. We started communicating with Apple by letter dated February 28, 2017,’ the online petition reads.
‘We finally got to speak to someone after chasing them in July. Since then, we have asked them to look at the uninsured loss following the fire.’
As of Thursday evening, 2,405 people had signed the petition out of the desired 2,500 listed.
‘After that we have no option but to sell and leave if they do not help us. It is not ok that while they celebrate their tax breaks allowing them to bring in billions of dollars, we are losing everything.’
Cathy expressed her frustration further while speaking to CTV.
‘I want to know from Apple why they didn’t respond on the first day and why they weren’t honest with us… we would have made very different decisions had they been honest about the litigation process we would have to go through.’
While the couple received $600,000 from their insurance company, they said the amount hasn’t been sufficient and the home still needs repairs
‘To be clear, we have closed the farm business for now and borrowed enough money for us to finish rebuilding and stay here for one year,’ the couple wrote to change.org
‘The cause of the fire is not in question. We have a fire report stating that. We started communicating with Apple by letter dated February 28, 2017,’ the online petition reads