Hoverboard bursts into flames, sparking south Ottawa house fire
Posted Jun 7, 2018 06:35:00 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Ottawa Fire Services is confirming the source of a blaze in a south end neighbourhood as a recently purchased hoverboard.
Firefighters were called to a home on Pinson Private, near Hunt Club Road and Uplands Drive, around 9 a.m. Thursday, to find residents huddled on a balcony to escape smoke.
Crews had the fire out quickly, and remained at the scene to vent the smoke.
Fire officials said an “electronic toy” was the source of the fire. Family members later told firefighters it was a hoverboard that they had just purchased, which burst into flames when they plugged it in to charge.
The make of the hoverboard is not known.
Hoverboards, or “self-balancing scooters,” have been the subject of recalls, and blamed for other fires and injuries.
In the US, the consumer product safety commission issued recalls for 500,000 hoverboards in 2016.
