Hoverboard catches fire, damages Northern California home

ByAmy Hollyfield KGO logo
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Hoverboard catches fire in Brentwood home
A Brentwood family is lucky no one got hurt after a hoverboard that was a Christmas present started a fire.

BRENTWOOD, Calif. -- A Northern California family is lucky no one was injured after a hoverboard that was a Christmas present started a fire at their home.

The family said they had just charged the hoverboard when a girl stood on it.

Then, the machine began popping and burst into flames, they said.

"Well she took it off of the charger, turned it on, stood on it and it started sparking up and making popping noises, so she kind of freaked out," Aliyah Denny said.

The girl tried to drag it out of the house, but it was already on fire and damaged an area inside the home.

"She was screaming, I was trying to get someone to help and my uncle came out and poured a bucket of water on it," Denny said.

No one was hurt, but the fire is the latest in a long list of hoverboard fires. At least 11 fires have been reported in 10 states and Amazon has pulled the product from its website.

The United States Product Safety Commission is now investigating why they are catching on fire.

The Denny family said they knew about the problems, but bought two of them anyway.

"You hear it all over TV and you hear different reports of it, but you never think, 'oh that's gonna be my family," Denny said.