Medford man races to put out home fire, claims it was started by Google device

MEDFORD, Mass. — A Medford man sprang into action after a fire ignited inside his townhome, and it was all captured on video.

The man, who didn’t want to use his name, grabbed a fire extinguisher and put it out in a matter of moments. He’s convinced the fire originated in the Google WiFi mesh router he bought last year for a stronger connection.

The video shows the WiFi device popping once in the beginning – a slow pop, then a larger one. That man said he was on a conference call in his office when his girlfriend alerted him to a fire that had just ignited downstairs.

“[I] came downstairs and grabbed the fire extinguisher and saved the day,” he said. “I gave it two good sprayings and called the fire department, and they came, and thankfully there wasn’t still a fire.”

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He’s convinced the fire he put out originated in that Google WiFi mesh router, a theory that Google is denying. A response he received from Google Support said, in part, “Our safety team reviewed the photos and video you initially sent and they are consistent with an incident that began within your outlet and not in the adapter or device.”

It went on to say: “We are strongly committed to the safety and quality of our products and take all claims seriously.”

A Google spokesperson later contacted Boston 25 News with the following statement:

“We investigated these claims and determined that the issue is not related to our device. We are more than willing to help the user identify the root cause and have made several attempts to reach the customer,” the Google spokesperson said in an email to Boston 25.

That man told us he spent $2000 on an electrician and cleaning crew but said he was just relieved the fire didn’t intensify and spread any further.

The Medford Fire Department took the burned mesh router and is investigating. We reached out to Google’s Press Office for further comment but have not yet heard back.

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