Fayette school evacuated when student tries viral ‘Social Media Laptop Fire Challenge’
Lexington firefighters raced to Southern Middle School Thursday afternoon when a student attempted to mimic a national trend called the “Social Media Laptop Fire Challenge,” shorting out their Chromebook by inserting objects into a port that causes fires.
“Today, a student made an attempt to do this at school,” Principal Kevin Payne said in a Thursday letter to families.
“Out of an abundance of caution we evacuated the building and alerted the fire department. Once the Lexington Fire Department indicated the building was safe and cleared, we reentered the building.”
The event temporarily disrupted the classroom for some of eighth grade students and staff. As a result, they have been learning in alternate locations within the building, said Payne.
“This is a serious offense,” he said
Lexington fire officials told the Herald-Leader the Chromebook incident occurred at 1:01 p.m. Thursday.
Fayette County Public Schools’ spokesperson Dia Davidson-Smith said only one such incident had occurred in the district.
Perry County Schools officials said in a Facebook post Wednesday the district had seven Chromebooks damaged by students attempting the trend.
“Please remind your student how dangerous these trends can be, and the financial consequences of destroying a $435 Chromebook,” the post said. “Additionally local enforcement will be notified of any damage to school district property.”
South Marshall Middle School officials said in a Facebook post, “We want to bring to your immediate attention a hazardous TikTok trend currently influencing students in schools nationwide. This trend encourages students to insert conductive items such as paper clips, pencil graphite, pushpins, folded metallic gum wrappers, or pieces of aluminum foil into the USB ports of their Chromebooks in an attempt to create sparks or short circuits. “
The post continued: “Please be aware that this behavior is not only extremely dangerous but can cause lithium-ion batteries inside the devices to overheat, catch fire or even explode.”
On Wednesday, NBC News reported TikTok videos appearing to show students attempting to set their Chromebooks on fire by sticking school supplies in them are going viral. One incident at a Connecticut school forced an evacuation, the network reported.
This story was originally published May 8, 2025 at 5:43 PM.