New viral video challenge prompts safety warnings from Colorado Springs Fire

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- The Colorado Springs Fire Department says police are currently investigating an incident at a local middle school involving the new outlet challenge circulating on the popular video app TikTok. 

In the videos, teens partially plug in a cell phone charger, then drop a penny on the exposed prongs, causing the outlet to spark. 

Sunny Smaldino, Community Outreach Supervisor with CSFD, says over the past week, their department has gotten word of several instances across the country where the challenge has led to fires. 

“So as soon as the metal touches the metal, that spark happens. The heat that creates can get behind that outlet and follows through that wiring…so that’s what will heat up behind the outlet after it blows”, says Smaldino. “What that [does] is burn the outlet, and in some cases, creates a fire behind the walls”. 

Smaldino says some teens in the U.S. have even been charged with arson.

In Colorado Springs, any child the age of 10 can also face felony charges. 

CSFD says they are not releasing the name of the middle school where the incident happened because it is still being investigated by police, and there could be charges pending.