Do NOT leave your laptop on a couch - man dies in fire

The British Columbia Coroner's Service in Canada is issuing a warning after the province's first death attributed to a laptop computer fire. The Coroner is cautioning people, after a 56-year-old Vancouver man when a computer overheated and caught fire within 50 minutes of being left on a couch, plugged in and turned on.

Since 2004, four other laptops that either overheated or short-circuited when left plugged in have caused fires. The Coroner's Service says computer equipment should always be operated on a hard surface that allows ventilation, and laptops should be shutdown, even for short periods of time, especially when placed in a carry bag.