Pupil sets school laptop on fire following social media trend

Fire services were called to a school in West Dunbartonshire after a pupil set a laptop alight, following a social media trend for short-circuiting the devices.

No one was injured in the fire, which is understood to have happened at Our Lady & St Patrick's High in Dumbarton last month.

The last year has seen a string of videos posted on the likes of social media app TikTok showing the devices being set on fire, in what is called "the chromebook challenge." Fire services called the trend "significantly worrying".

Pupils attempt to short-circuit the devices by breaking off charging pins or jamming metal items into power ports, causing them to overheat and, in some cases, going on fire.

West Dunbartonshire Council has written to parents about the incident.

A spokesperson said: "The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service attended one of our schools following a small fire believed to be connected to the vandalism of an electronic device.

"No-one was injured and there was no wider damage caused.

"We have spoken with pupils in our schools and have also lettered parents for awareness."

It is understood chromebooks have not been removed from use within the school, despite the incident.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokeswoman said it was "aware of a significantly worrying trend being distributed on social media around chromebook laptops."

The spokeswoman added: "Laptops are powered by lithium-ion batteries which can have devastating consequences on fire, releasing toxic gasses which can overcome individuals very quickly.

"In addition, they can explode and cause serious injuries to anyone near them, or where they have been tampered with, could have a delay in igniting, sometimes when unattended.

"Anyone attempting to undertake any actions identified within the trend are committing a criminal offence and could be prosecuted for wilful fire raising."

The trend became popular in America last year after videos were commonly shared on TikTok, leading some police departments to warn parents about the behaviour.

Pupils were said to be at risk of electrical shock or fire.

Early examples of the incidents included a school in Arizona having a classroom left unusable due to the smell of burnt metal and plastic, and a New Jersey student being charged with third degree arson after setting his laptop on fire.

Local police said the teenager had "intentionally manipulated the device as part of a social media challenge trending on TikTok, resulting in the Chromebook smouldering and posing a fire risk."