Gaming Mouse Fire: User's Apartment Nearly Burned Down

Imagine the shock of finding your gaming mouse engulfed in flames while your PC is in sleep mode. This was the alarming situation faced by Reddit user lommelinn, who narrowly avoided a catastrophic apartment fire due to their Gigabyte M6880X mouse catching fire unexpectedly. The user recounted the harrowing experience on Reddit, detailing how they were alerted by the smell of smoke early in the morning. Upon rushing into their room, they discovered the mouse burning fiercely, filling the room with black smoke. "I quickly extinguished the fire, but inhaled a lot of smoke in the process and my room is in a bad shape now, covered with black particles (my modular synth as well)," lommelinn reported. Despite the close call, they were relieved that the situation did not escalate further.

The Gigabyte M6880X, an older wired optical mouse, typically draws power through a USB 2.0 port at 5V and 0.5A, making its sudden combustion all the more baffling. Images shared by lommelinn show the mouse's top rear panel completely melted, while the underside remained relatively unscathed. The cause of the fire, particularly why it was confined to the top casing, remains a mystery. The damage extended to the user’s desk and mousepad, which were also melted.

My Gigabyte mouse caught fire and almost burned down my apartment

byu/lommelinn inpcmasterrace

Gigabyte responded promptly to the incident on the Reddit thread, stating:

Hi Everyone,

We have been made aware of the incident shared by lommelin regarding the M6880X gaming mice. Our customer's safety is our top priority and we are actively looking into this case. Our team has reached out to lommelin to offer support and to investigate the matter fully. In the meantime, we appreciate the community’s understanding and patience as we work to address this issue.

Best,

The GIGABYTE Team.

In a follow-up post, lommelinn expressed their confusion over the incident, noting that their PC was in sleep mode at the time. They also mentioned checking the USB port with a voltage meter and finding it to be functioning normally, leaving them without any clear explanation for the fire.