Hoverboard Goes BOOM Inside Ft. Lauderdale Home

Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter

FT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) - A hoverboard sparked a fire inside a Ft. Lauderdale home Friday.

When the hoverboard, which was inside the residence at 290 Delaware Avenue, spontaneously exploded, it set part of a couch on fire and scorched the floor.

Kaudrica Hunter's son Frederick was at the dining table, about 15 feet away.

"I was in my room, my son was sitting out here and he heard a spark first and then the explosion," said Hunter.

Frederick, who ran and got a hose to put out the fire, said there were multiple explosions.

"It was loud," said Frederick. "It was literally just like 'boom' three times."

Ft. Lauderdale Fire Rescue said it was fortunate that there was someone home at the time.

"If nobody was home there would have been potential for a fire, but the resident did put the fire out. If nobody was home, it could have turned into something much worse," said Captain Greg May.

Hunter said she has a second hoverboard, which she has removed from the home and is going to get rid of. She doesn't plan to buy any more in the future.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a number of warnings about hoverboards concerning people injuring themselves after falling off them and battery explosions.  Many carry the United Laboratories Seal of Approval.  United Laboratories says the seals are fake.

People have been injured, but so far no one's been killed.  Hoverboards have been banned in some communities and countries and major stores no longer sell them.