In early December eparisextra.com ran an article on “The Mommy Desk” regarding the safety of hoverboards. The column reported tales of the popular electronic scooters catching fire spontaneously in Louisiana, Alabama and in the U.K.
Last week, there were two reported cases of hoverboards catching fire and causing damage to homes in east Texas. One was in Carthage, TX on Saturday morning and last Wednesday, firefighters were called to a house fire started by a hoverboard right here in Paris, TX.
In both cases, the hoverboards were charging when the fire ignited.
In early January a house fire in Melbourne, Australia was reportedly caused by a charging hoverboard which resulted in five varieties of hoverboards being recalled across Australia.
Although there have not been widespread recalls of hoverboards in the U.S., the online retailer Amazon did warn its customers in December to throw out their hoverboards. In an email statement Amazon said: “We regret the inconvenience this may cause you but trust you will understand that your safety and satisfaction is our highest priority.” The online retailer advised customers to dispose of their product “as soon as possible” and that refunds were being automatically processed.
In addition, a number of airlines, Delta, American and United, have banned passengers from taking hoverboards onto flights, siting that their batteries present an unacceptable fire hazard.
If you still have a hoverboard, never leave the device charging unattended.