An investigation is underway after a charger caused a house fire in Greenhithe, Auckland

“Our teams are carefully reviewing product listings and seller data for the USB cables mentioned in the messages. According to the findings of the fire brigade and emergency services reported in the news, the fire may have been caused by the use of a cable to charge the phone while it was placed on a soft surface,” the spokesman said.

“We encourage all users to follow their advice and charge devices on hard, non-flammable surfaces to reduce the risk. We encourage Mr. Sparks to contact us directly so that we can further investigate your specific product and keep him updated on our progress. In addressing this issue, Temu continues to strive to act in a transparent and accountable manner.”

Layne Sparks, who lives in Greenhithe home, said his partner used a “green flashing cord” purchased from a Chinese online retailer to charge her phone and left it between the bed and pillow to protect it from the rabbit.

“It looks like the cable was so hot it just lit the bed on fire and everything went out.”

Sparks said his partner took a sleeping pill which didn’t work, so she went outside for a cigarette.

“They say smoking kills. It could have saved (the) night.”

While outside, his partner heard the smoke alarm go off and ran back inside to check on their one-year-old child.

“Apparently she saw the smoke right away, went straight (inside), grabbed our baby and went outside.”

Sparks claims he was playing in the downstairs garage when his partner alerted him to the fire and he ran to the top floor, thinking she had gone on to the house.

“(I opened) that door and I just saw pitch black – like smoke, you know, you can’t see anything in front of you… within a second I was just covered in it.”

The family and their rabbit escaped and firefighters from Albany and Greenhithe arrived to put out the fire.

Sparks said two walls would have to be replaced and the bedroom was completely burned out, while the bathroom was left “black with smoke.”

He said the top floor “will require renovation” and the second floor had significant water damage as well as “muddy, ash” rubbed into the floor.

Sparks stated that the homeowner has home insurance but no contents insurance, which means they will have to replace everything in their bedroom.

The family moved out while the cleaning and repair process was ongoing and began: Givealittle to help cover the costs.

“I think the most important thing to take away from this is: Don’t use cheap charging cables,” Sparks said.

“If they’re not really safe or they’re not from an approved manufacturer, you just run the risk of something like this happening.”

A fire department spokesman said it recommends using device chargers only on hard surfaces to reduce the risk of fire.

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