Firefighters tell wannabe TikTok stars to stop setting fire to spark plugs by putting pennies on the exposed prongs of iPhone chargers
- Officials in Massachusetts are warning of dangerous TikTok trend on Tuesday
- Teenagers are plugging phone chargers into outlets and sliding pennies onto the exposed metal prongs, causing electrical sparks
- The trend has been done at two Massachusetts schools this week
- The Department of Fire Services released a letter cautioning parents and school officials against the prank
- There are no reported injuries
- One student who participated in the trend will be facing charges
Officials in Massachusetts are telling teenagers on TikTok to stop sparking fires after two students deliberately slid a penny behind an iPhone charger and scorched part of a classroom on Tuesday.
Firefighters responding to Plymouth North High School around 12.15pm after reports of an arcing electrical outlet found a melted penny fused onto to the pronged part of a phone charger. Another outlet was in similar condition.
According to a teacher, two students plugged phone chargers into outlets and dropped a penny between the charger and the outlet, resulting in sparks and smoke.
‘It’s almost like an explosion. The electricity propels the charger and the coin — the coin is molten metal at this point — outwards,’ Plymouth Fire Chief Edward Bradley told WHDH.
A new viral TikTok trend involves people sliding pennies onto the exposed prongs of phone chargers to cause electrical sparks
‘It does not take much to be electrocuted fatally. Just by an outlet in a wall socket,’ he added.
Footage from the trend shows two students laughing as they drop the penny into place and a electrical spark instantly erupts.
Amherst Fire Department Assistant Chief Jeff Olmstead said the prank could cause thousands of dollars in damage.
The incident has occurred at two Massachusetts schools, resulting in scorched outlets and potential fires
‘Thousands of dollars to the electrical system if they need to be done or if they have to pull those wires back to a circuit breaker, the damage to the person, electrocution causing burns or death or starting clothes on fire or items nearby,’ he told Western Mass News.
‘Although they are younger, they will get fees fines and probations and no one wants to see them have a felony or conviction on a record,’ he added.
The Massachusetts Fire Marshal released a letter revealing that incidents have occurred at a school in Holden and at Westford Academy.
The Massachusetts Fire Marshal released a letter regarding the trend to school and emergency officials on Tuesday
‘We have had two incidents in Massachusetts that we are aware of: one in Holden where a concerned mother sent a photo of a scorched outlet to a news outlet and one at a Westford High School, which the Department of Fire Services investigated,’ they wrote.
In response, fire officials are looking to implement plans to educate tweens and teenagers about the risks involved with the trend.
They are also asking local parents to talk to their children about the incident.
Winchester Fire Chief Rick Tustin said: ‘My plan is to get it out to the superintendent. We have had incidents over the years where children have been really injured with these viral videos. So that is our major concern — to stop them before they get hurt.’
Pictured: a ruined electrical outlet after the TikTok trend was performed. One student at Westford Academy will face charges.
Dr. Gary E. Maestas, Plymouth Schools Superintendent, released a statement on Tuesday saying that no injuries have been reported and the involved student at Westford Academy will face charges.
‘I am happy to report that there were no injuries or significant damage to Plymouth North High School as a result of their irresponsible act of shorting out an electrical outlet.’
‘We are working with Plymouth Police and Fire Departments to fully understand the scope of this issue and pursue charges to the fullest extent of the law.’
The investigation is ongoing and no formal arrests have been made, WBZ reports.