There have been plenty of warnings issued since hoverboards rose to popularity in recent months, and an Irish family have had a lucky escape following a house fire caused by the gadget.
A representative from the Dublin Fire Brigade took to official social media channels last night to reveal that they tackled a house fire caused by a hoverboard in Artane.
Emergency services were called to the scene at around 6.10pm, after a hoverboard on charge in the sitting room overheated and set fire to the couch. Thankfully, no one in the house was injured, but a collage of frightening images showed the extent of damage done to the room and its contents.
“The device was charging when it overheated and caught fire, spreading to a laptop and a couch. House was smoke logged and fire was contained,” read the service’s tweet.
We attended a hoverboard on fire in a house this evening in Artane. The device was charging when it overheated 1/2 pic.twitter.com/H31YKFLL0I
— Dublin Fire Brigade (@DubFireBrigade) February 25, 2016
and caught fire, spreading to a laptop and a couch. House was smoke logged and fire was contained. No injuries. 2/2 pic.twitter.com/uZF6HTkTDe
— Dublin Fire Brigade (@DubFireBrigade) February 25, 2016
This isn’t the first time a hoverboard has caused such destruction. A UK family saw their home completely demolished after the gadget sparked a fire that burned their house down.
A family was also left devastated when, last December, 15-year-old Nawaf Al-Tuwayan crashed while riding his hoverboard and was subsequently knocked down and killed by a bus.
If there was ever a time to get rid of that hoverboard, it’s now.
