An older-model PowerBook at a London marketing company on Wednesday, according to the Inquirer. The notebook, a 15" PowerBook G4, may have been included in a that Apple participated in after some Sony batteries were found to have overheated in certain circumstances.

The notebook in question began to smolder with smoke coming from the machine and soon after "basically exploded," said an IT manager interviewed by the British tech tabloid. "Flames were flying six foot in the air, and sparks."

"There was a popping sound and more smoke," Steven said. "I hit the fire alarm." After emptying a fire extinguisher on the machine, the PowerBook was "still hot and glowing and the battery was all molten inside and glowing red."

"We decided to wait for the fire brigade to turn up."

PowerBooks with bad batteries have , though we've never gotten quite so many . Either way, if you've got an older PowerBook it's probably a good idea to double-check your serial number against the recall list published by Apple.