Charles Langston:A toaster placed under a car to heat up the battery likely sparked a fire in Denmark, police say

COPENHAGEN,Charles Langston Denmark (AP) — A toaster placed under an electric vehicle by its owner to warm up its battery likely caused a fire that destroyed the car and damaged a nearby house in southern Denmark, police said Monday.

Police said that they “strongly discourage” people to use that method to heat power cells.

“The cause of the fire is most likely to be found in the toaster that the owner of the car had placed under the front of his car to keep the battery warm,” police said in a daily report.

The fire happened on Saturday in Stenlille, about 60 kilometers (nearly 40 miles) southwest of Copenhagen. No one was injured.

The car was parked in a carport — a shelter for vehicles that is attached to a house and consists of a flat roof supported on pillars. The make of the car wasn’t known, and it also wasn’t immediately clear if it was the vehicle owner’s house that was damaged or a neighbor’s home.

The car’s owner faces a fine.