I’m a firefighter — here’s why charging phones while sleeping could be deadly

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A firefighter on TikTok has revealed why you shouldn't keep your mobile devices fired up overnight.

England's Kent Fire and Rescue Service claimed that charging your smart devices while sleeping could be deadly.

"This is a highly debated topic on our TikTok, but if you ARE able to do so, it's much safer to charge any electrical items when you’re there and awake," they captioned their clip.

"We get a lot of questions here at Kent Fire & Rescue about why you shouldn't charge phones overnight," the fire expert firmed viewers.

"So here are the reasons why. Number one: you can't smell anything when you’re asleep, so if it starts to burn, the fire won't wake you up," he said.

"Number two: it only takes three breaths of smoke to knock you unconscious."

He then noted that because many people have "cheap or faulty" phone chargers — and even some "genuine" ones — "have been known to start fires."

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"If you’re able to, we advise you to charge your phone when you’re there and awake," he added. "From a fire service point of view, it's much safer."

In the comments, one user sneered, "Cheers👍🏻 ( I will be charging my phone as I sleep tonight)."

But the fire service community hit back. "We’d advise you didn't, but we can't enforce anything. All we can do is share advice based on real incidents. We always hope you’ll never need us."

This is a highly debated topic on our TikTok, but if you ARE able to do so, it's much safer to charge any electrical items when you’re there and awake ✔️ #firesafety #firefighting #kentfire #firefighters #kentuk #fireservice #firesafetytips #firefightertiktok #firefightersoftiktok

A study published in the journal Annals of Emergency Medicine found that generic iPhone chargers are more dangerous than their Apple-produced parallels.

Researchers in the study reported an incident saying that a 19-year-old was simply lying in bed with her charger plugged-in. But when the device touched her chain necklace "she felt a sudden burning sensation and severe pain around her neck."

According to a PC Mag report, smartphone batteries can explode for a plethora of reasons. Overheating, physical damage to the device and degradation over time are all contributors to electronic fires.

Just last month, an Indian repairman tried to fix a customer's phone last month — at which point the device's battery went up in flames, nearly setting he and the client ablaze.

While its was unclear what started the fire, both people came out unscathed.