Parents warned of viral, dangerous TikTok Chromebook challenge in Fayetteville

The Fayetteville Fire Department is issuing a warning about a viral TikTok trend that encourages students to insert objects into school-issued Chromebook ports, potentially causing dangerous fires and toxic smoke.

The Fayetteville Fire Department said a new social media trend could be deadly.

The challenge making its rounds on TikTok encourages students to stick objects in the ports of their school-issued Chromebooks, triggering sparks and smoke.

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“Not only does it create the fire, but it also creates toxic smoke from all the chemicals that are inside of the plastics and all the things inside your computer,” said Captain Stephen Shakeshaft with the Fayetteville Fire Department

Shakeshaft said when the lithium-ion batteries in the Chromebooks are exposed to fire, it can generate heat up to 750 degrees.

“The fire is not going to stop until there’s nothing left to burn,” Shakeshaft said.

The social media trend is causing issues around the country. WRAL previously reported Wake County schools also cracking down on the trend.

Several school districts in California recently sent letters to parents warning them about the trend.

The Fayetteville Fire Department said it has seen cases of thermal runaway in Chromebooks but cannot confirm whether those instances are because of the social media challenge.

“We want to make sure parents are talking to their kids and they understand what they’re being exposed to on TikTok and other social media apps,” Shakeshaft said. “We’ve all seen the ice bucket challenge, we've seen different pushup challenges, things that raise money for great causes. But we’ve all seen the ones that can be dangerous, and this one could potentially be deadly.”