Man's smartphone catches fire in pants while shoppingWashington, March 18 (AZINS) In a bizarre incident, a man had to take off his pants inside a Costco shop here, as his smartphone caught fire in his pocket, reports said.

"He had taken the pants off and tied the jacket around his waist. And I thought that was unusual, and I looked down, and then there was what looked like to be what's left of a cell phone," Everett Tyrrell, an eye witness was quoted as saying to kiro7.com on Friday.

Tyrrell said smoke filled the hardware aisle and employees of the warehouse came to the man's aid, spraying the phone with a fire extinguisher.

Although the man was not injured, the smartphone was reduced to ashes and also left a burn mark on the floor.

"That was very weird to me. I'd never seen anything like that in my life. It's amazing how much heat must have been generated to cause all that smoke from that small item," Tyrrell said.

Costco staff gave the man a new pair of pants.