You can’t make this stuff up. Dollars to donuts, if the fire was indirectly related to charging the iPhone, the charger being used was one of those cheap knock-offs sold by Amazon & convenience stores/gas stations.
Or they were using an extension cordMy 6 charger gets hot when attached to an extension cord.
That’s what I’m thinking.
Given upwards of a billion Apple iDevices with no apparent patterns of self-immolation, best odds are on an el-cheapo charger operating on the hairy edge of failure - THOSE do have a documented history of undue ignition.
I read one detailed tear-down of both the classic 1-cubic-inch Apple power supply vs an identical-looking dirt-cheap knockoff. The former was deemed a tour-de-force of electronic compactness, efficiency, and safety - while the other was an electrocution disaster waiting to happen.
Apple admitted fault and paid.
I have a real charger that came with my iPad. One of the big ones. When it’s plugged in the charger gets hot. If I leave it charging on the couch or somewhere I always put the charger plug on top of the iPad. It’s hooked to a short extension cord so I have the length to do it. I was surprised at how hot it gets.