A computer can cause a fire.

A family lost their 25 year old son in a fire at home some time ago. This is what happened.

He graduated with a MBA from University of Wisconsin-Madison two weeks earlier and came home. He had lunch with his dad at home and decided to go back to clean up his room at school. The father told him to wait and see his mother before he goes back for a few days. He decided to take a nap while waiting for his mom to come home from work.

Neighbors called 911 when they saw black smoke coming out of his house. The fire brigade came but it was too late for the son. The 25 year old son died in the fire in this house.

It took several days of investigation to find out the cause of the fire. It was determined that the fire was caused by a lap top in the bed.
According to the investigation, when the lap top was on the bed, the cooling fan does not get enough air to cool the computer and that was what caused the fire. The uneven surface of the bedsheet had blocked the air intake vent below the cpu fan.

When laptops are placed on a flat surface i.e. on a desk or a table, there is a gap between the desk surface and the base of the casing to allow air to flow or be sucked in through the air intake vent by the cpu fan to cool the cpu.
He did not even wake up to get out of the bed as he died of carbon monoxide poisoning. The reason this is written this is that too many people are using their lap tops in bed. Let us all decide and make it a practice not to do that. The risk is real. Let us make it a rule not to use a lap top in bed or put a computer on a bed with blankets and pillows around it.