What happens when you take ordinary gadgets and subject them to intense heat and fire? They melt.

As you'll see ahead, those harsh conditions most often claim innocent tech during house fires, which are scary, dangerous events. In the ashes of tragedy, many folks have bravely picked up their cameras and documented the damage with irresistible curiosity: it's oddly fascinating to examine the high-tech devices we use every day after they're damaged or destroyed.

In the slides ahead, you'll see 10 examples of what happens when gadgets start feeling the heat. When you're done, I hope you'll remember to check your smoke detector batteries and thank your local fire department for what they do every day.