Japanese singer ZOOCO recently shared a shocking experience: in December 2025, a sudden fire broke out in her home due to a power bank self-combusting. In less than 20 minutes, the family home of many years was almost entirely destroyed. Not only did the incident cause over 45 million yen (approximately RM1.17 million) in damages, but the family also suffered indelible psychological trauma.
ZOOCO recalled that on the day of the fire, she and her husband were both out for work while their 15-year-old daughter came home from school, then took her beloved dog out for a walk. Unexpectedly, in those short 20 minutes, neighbors called one after another to notify her that smoke was billowing from their home. Upon hearing the news at work, she rushed home, only to find fire trucks and ambulances parked in front of the building. Although the fire was contained before it could spread to other residences, the 89-square-meter home her family lived in was severely damaged by fire and smoke, making it almost uninhabitable.
According to the fire department's investigation, the origin of the fire was a large household power bank. ZOOCO explained that the product was purchased via Amazon during the 2020 pandemic and was mainly used as an emergency backup power supply, stored in their home’s storage room. The last time it was charged was about two months prior to the fire. What puzzled her most was that, at the time of the incident, the battery was neither charging nor in use: “If something happened while it was charging, it would have been easier to understand, but it was just sitting there.”
Firefighters determined that a sudden internal malfunction caused the battery to explode, generating temperatures as high as 350 to 400°C in an instant. The fire and heat rapidly spread throughout the house, destroying not only furniture and appliances but even deforming the bathroom door due to the intense heat.
The fire swept away more than just physical possessions. The daughter’s school uniform, textbooks, the school bag she had kept since childhood, years of family photos and data, as well as stage costumes, sheet music, and music equipment from ZOOCO’s 30+ years in the entertainment industry, all perished in the fire. What pained her most was that the marks on the family pillar recording her daughter’s height over 15 years also vanished. She admitted that these irreplaceable memories hurt even more than any material loss.
What was even harder to bear was that her uninformed daughter returned home from walking the dog and witnessed firefighters cutting open the metal door and charging into the smoke-filled home. Not only was the dog frightened, but the sheer impact caused her daughter to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), resulting in widespread eczema and an extended inability to accept the loss of their home.
Because the fire happened around year’s end, the real estate and rental markets had practically ground to a halt; the family struggled to find suitable housing and ultimately had to temporarily stay in the building’s meeting room, enduring a nearly 100-day period of displacement. ZOOCO wryly noted that the first things she bought after the fire were glasses and underwear. Without a fixed address, even shopping online was difficult, and daily trips to coin laundromats and public baths became routine. Even as her life turned chaotic, she continued to perform on stage, never mentioning the fire to her audience as she didn't want to bring a heavy mood to her shows, and out of respect for her daughter's wish not to talk about the incident.
In order to determine the cause, fire officials and specialists disassembled the battery and conducted X-ray analysis, ultimately finishing a nearly 50-page investigation report. The findings revealed that, even when not being charged, lithium batteries may still contain residual energy—meaning that if a circuit malfunctions or a component fails, a sudden short circuit and intense fire can result.
However, when ZOOCO tried to ask Amazon to issue a safety warning to other buyers of the same product, their response was only to refund the purchase price of 14,499 yen (about RM371). She contacted the platform multiple times in a short span but received no proactive handling—until she reported to relevant government departments, after which the product was finally removed from the site.
She further explained that her family's property losses were about 20 million yen (around RM507,500), with repair costs amounting to 25 million yen (about RM634,300), bringing total damages above 45 million yen (about RM1.14 million). With no way to contact the manufacturer or distributor, it has been impossible to hold anyone accountable.
This incident also severely affected ZOOCO’s health. She revealed that, while busy restoring her home and caring for her family, the accumulated stress eventually led to sudden hearing loss, with permanent damage in some frequencies in both ears. For a professional singer, this was almost a fatal blow. A planned 32nd debut anniversary concert had to be canceled, and she temporarily suspended all entertainment activities. Nevertheless, she has not given up on music—she has begun adapting to her changes through new vocal and harmony training, hoping to one day return to the stage in top form.
Now, by sharing her ordeal, she hopes not only to document this difficult experience but also to remind the public to check their power banks, energy storage equipment, and various charging products at home. She reflected: thankfully, on the day of the incident, the dog happened to take her daughter out for a walk, sparing her whole family from tragedy: “Our lives were spared, but the memories of our home will never come back.”
According to the fire department's investigation, the origin of the fire was a large household power bank. ZOOCO explained that the product was purchased via Amazon during the 2020 pandemic and was mainly used as an emergency backup power supply, stored in their home’s storage room. The last time it was charged was about two months prior to the fire. What puzzled her most was that, at the time of the incident, the battery was neither charging nor in use: “If something happened while it was charging, it would have been easier to understand, but it was just sitting there.”
Firefighters determined that a sudden internal malfunction caused the battery to explode, generating temperatures as high as 350 to 400°C in an instant. The fire and heat rapidly spread throughout the house, destroying not only furniture and appliances but even deforming the bathroom door due to the intense heat.
The fire swept away more than just physical possessions. The daughter’s school uniform, textbooks, the school bag she had kept since childhood, years of family photos and data, as well as stage costumes, sheet music, and music equipment from ZOOCO’s 30+ years in the entertainment industry, all perished in the fire. What pained her most was that the marks on the family pillar recording her daughter’s height over 15 years also vanished. She admitted that these irreplaceable memories hurt even more than any material loss.
What was even harder to bear was that her uninformed daughter returned home from walking the dog and witnessed firefighters cutting open the metal door and charging into the smoke-filled home. Not only was the dog frightened, but the sheer impact caused her daughter to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), resulting in widespread eczema and an extended inability to accept the loss of their home.
Because the fire happened around year’s end, the real estate and rental markets had practically ground to a halt; the family struggled to find suitable housing and ultimately had to temporarily stay in the building’s meeting room, enduring a nearly 100-day period of displacement. ZOOCO wryly noted that the first things she bought after the fire were glasses and underwear. Without a fixed address, even shopping online was difficult, and daily trips to coin laundromats and public baths became routine. Even as her life turned chaotic, she continued to perform on stage, never mentioning the fire to her audience as she didn't want to bring a heavy mood to her shows, and out of respect for her daughter's wish not to talk about the incident.
In order to determine the cause, fire officials and specialists disassembled the battery and conducted X-ray analysis, ultimately finishing a nearly 50-page investigation report. The findings revealed that, even when not being charged, lithium batteries may still contain residual energy—meaning that if a circuit malfunctions or a component fails, a sudden short circuit and intense fire can result.
However, when ZOOCO tried to ask Amazon to issue a safety warning to other buyers of the same product, their response was only to refund the purchase price of 14,499 yen (about RM371). She contacted the platform multiple times in a short span but received no proactive handling—until she reported to relevant government departments, after which the product was finally removed from the site.
She further explained that her family's property losses were about 20 million yen (around RM507,500), with repair costs amounting to 25 million yen (about RM634,300), bringing total damages above 45 million yen (about RM1.14 million). With no way to contact the manufacturer or distributor, it has been impossible to hold anyone accountable.
This incident also severely affected ZOOCO’s health. She revealed that, while busy restoring her home and caring for her family, the accumulated stress eventually led to sudden hearing loss, with permanent damage in some frequencies in both ears. For a professional singer, this was almost a fatal blow. A planned 32nd debut anniversary concert had to be canceled, and she temporarily suspended all entertainment activities. Nevertheless, she has not given up on music—she has begun adapting to her changes through new vocal and harmony training, hoping to one day return to the stage in top form.
Now, by sharing her ordeal, she hopes not only to document this difficult experience but also to remind the public to check their power banks, energy storage equipment, and various charging products at home. She reflected: thankfully, on the day of the incident, the dog happened to take her daughter out for a walk, sparing her whole family from tragedy: “Our lives were spared, but the memories of our home will never come back.”