Samsung phone sparks, burns Trenton resident

TRENTON, Mich. (WJBK) - A 21-year-old from Trenton was burned by her phone after a Samsung model different than the one recalled caught on fire.

"We download our lives on these things and this isn't reliable," Ally Hughes said.
 
It was 5 a.m. on Saturday morning. Hughes couldn't sleep -- she had just lost her fiancé in a tragic crash days ago and her dog had been run over and killed. Not to mention her nerve condition -- neuropathy tends to keep her awake.

So she listened to music on her Samsung Note 5 when she noticed something was wrong.

"It wasn't so much of a smoke smell," Hughes said. "It was a burning rubber smell."

She went for her phone to call her mom.

"This was my battery, which was sparking and burning and it was hot," she said.
 
In doing so, she burned her hands. She frantically took out a knife, prying the battery out to salvage the Sim card which had irreplaceable memories.

"These pictures are from a very ... close friend that passed away and my dog that was his, passed away. And it had videos and pictures. So my first reaction was to get the Sim card because I was crying I couldn't lose him," Hughes said.

After avoiding a disaster, the reality of what happened set in.

"I would've had no way to call 911 ... to say my house is on fire. I would have been here suffering."

She was able to reach her mom via email who was equally concerned about what could of happened.

"My daughter could have died if she was sleeping," Cassie Hughes said.

They both knew about recent phone fires but figured they were safe because it wasn't the model they owned.

Now they want others and the company itself to do something before it's too late.

"You can't just say you're sorry. If it was my whole house, my daughter. My children -- a sorry doesn't get it," Cassie Hughes said.

She has been on the phone with Samsung for the past two days. In fact, FOX 2 was there as she placed another call to customer service.

They said they had no answers as to why her phone started on fire, but have sent her a replacement phone in the mail.