A hoverboard left charging for hours started fire in Hurst that severely damaged home
A hoverboard that had been charging most of the day is being blamed in a house fire that caused significant damage on Christmas.
Firefighters responded to a call about 7 p.m. Wednesday in the 2700 block of Mill Haven Drive, and they were able to contain the fire to a single bedroom.
Firefighters later discovered a hoverboard that had been left charging in that bedroom for most of the day caused the fire, a Hurst news release said.
“The hoverboard was actually purchased between two and two-and-a-half years ago and had not been used,” said Matt Easter, Hurst fire marshal. “They took it out of the box [Wednesday] and decided to play with it. When they took it off the charger it started to spark and smoke, and that’s when they decided to leave the house and call 911.”
The house suffered severe smoke damage throughout and water damage in the area of the fire, the release said. Red Cross personnel were called to help the homeowners.
The Hurst Fire Department received help from the Colleyville and North Richland Hills Fire Departments.
Several hoverboards have been recalled in the past, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has archived recalls, according to the Hurst news release. Information from the CPSC about hoverboard safety can be found on the CPSC website.
CPSC officials recommend that those who own hoverboards make sure the device is compliant with UL Standard 2272 and checked against the CPSC.gov recall list.
The CPSC also recommends that people have working smoke alarms on every level of their home, outside sleeping areas, and inside each bedroom. People should report incidents involving hoverboards overheating, smoking, or starting fires to CPSC.
