Hi, Harvey.  I actually had two AA batteries start to get warm in the 
right rear pocket of my pants.  Reason?  I had a metal chit that we 
used to A"chit out" tools or keys (I worked in a prison for 
22years).  Anyway, between having that chit and a set of small keys 
in my back pocket, one day I felt some warmth back there.  When I 
looked, the batteries had shorted against the chit and keys, getting 
pretty hot.  Needless to say, I stopped this process and in a 
hurry.  Lesson learned. a Real pain in the ass.-  Funny now, but not 
funny then.-Matt, N1IBB.

t 03:54 PM 1/4/2015, you wrote:
>you're welcome.
>
>Early in my ham days I almost had a fire in my pants
>pocket because one of those rechargeable packs contacted my keys.
>Fortunately, it only got hot and I took it out of my pocket before anything
>serious happened.  But I did have to have the battery pack repaired.  Icom
>used to include a pad which you could slip into the pack to prevent that
>from happening.
>Harvey
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: For blind ham radio operators [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
>On Behalf Of Matthew Chao
>Sent: Sunday, January 4, 2015 2:28 PM
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: FW: FYI VERY IMPORTANT
>
>Hi, Harvey.  Great reminder, and easy to overlook!  Thanks for
>putting this out there.--Matt, N1IBB.