BATON ROUGE - Twenty-six apartment residents are homeless after a two alarm fire ripped through the Jefferson Shadows complex Monday night.

It was all caused by a charger for a remote control car battery. Fire investigators say it was left on top of a bed in a second story room.

"Statistically I think that it happens frequently," explained Dan Wallis, with the State Fire Marshall's Office. He says devastating fires like this can start in a split second.

"Of course, depending on the materials that are initially ignited, fire can spread quickly."

In this case, roughly two dozen units were impacted, some collapsing entirely. Wallis says it all has to do with overheating electronics.

"Anything with an electrical charge that's being charged is going to generate heat."

You may have noticed this when you charge your cell phones.

In 2015 you may also recall a rash of popular hoverboard fires. Some of them started while the device was on the charger.

Wallis says it's important to do three things when charging any electronic device.

1. Make sure that you have adequate air space around the device,

2. Make sure the device is on a hard surface

3. Check online for any recall information