Cellphone battery catches fire on Southwest flight at DIA, prompts evacuation

DENVER — An airplane was evacuated after a passenger’s cellphone battery caught fire Friday morning. 

Southwest Airlines Flight 3316 was at a gate at the Denver International Airport when a spokesperson for the airline said a cellphone battery caught on fire. The flight was scheduled to take of at 6:05 a.m. and was headed to Houston’s Hobby Airport. 

There were 108 passengers on the flight, all of whom were evacuated safely, the Southwest Airlines spokesperson said. Those who were sitting near the back of plane used the rear emergency slides and those sitting near the front were able to exit through the front door. 

The burning phone also caused a seat to catch fire, according to Southwest. The crew was able to quickly extinguish that fire. 

The person whose cellphone caught fire is being treated for burns and one other passenger reported a minor injury during evacuation, the airline said. 

Southwest said they are currently working to get the evacuated passengers to Houston on another airplane.