Meanwhile, Let's Get Back to Butt-Burning
I meant to cover this but never got around to it. Ironically, the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin never covered the story. But Channel 4 did:

Teen Burned After Cell Phone Catches Fire
Warning Recently Issued About Verizon Phones

POSTED: 5:26 pm PDT July 1, 2004
UPDATED: 8:52 am PDT July 2, 2004

ONTARIO, Calif. -- A teenager was treated for minor burns Thursday after the cell phone in her back pocket caught on fire.

The girl was on her way into the Ontario Center in Ontario when an individual noticed smoke coming from the girl's phone....

The girl was doused with a bucket of water, then treated for a minor first-degree blister and released....

The phone is a Verison Kyocera. Although its model number was burned off, Verizon said last month recall letters went out saying model 414 had overheating issues, the same as model TM510, a Verizon phone that has been the subject of 18 prior incidents.

Verizon is offering to replace any batteries that individuals may feel are counterfeit. The phone's manufacturer blames counterfeit batteries that have flooded the market.