Four people were forced out of their home after a hoverboard caught fire to a house in Shady Side over the weekend.
Shortly after 6 p.m. Saturday, Anne Arundel County firefighters were called to a fire in the 1500 block of Lincoln Drive.
The first firefighters arrived to find the fire had already been extinguished. Crews identified the cause of the fire as a hoverboard that appeared to have overheated while charging, according to the fire department.
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No one was injured, but the fire caused about $15,000 in damage and displaced four people from the home.
The Red Cross is helping the two adults and two juveniles who were living in the home.
In December of 2015, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) issued a warning about hoverboards following reports of potential fire hazards surrounding the devices, the fire department said.
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“These are fairly new to the mass market and there isn’t a lot we know about them. The best advice we can offer is to read all manufacturer’s guidelines - particularly those that apply to charging hover boards - and to follow some additional fire safety guidelines,” Lorraine Carli, NFPA’s vice president of Outreach and Advocac, said in a release.
The NFPA issued the following tips for hoverboard safety:
- Choose a device with the seal of an independent testing laboratory.
- Read and follow all manufacturer directions. If you do not understand the directions, ask for help.
- An adult should be responsible for charging the hover board.
- Do not leave a charging hover board unattended.
- Never leave the hover board plugged in overnight.
- Only use the charging cord that came with the hover board.
- Stop using your hover board if it overheats.
- Extreme hot or cold temperature can hurt the battery.
- Be on the lookout for product updates from manufacturers and safety groups.
- Many airlines have banned hover boards. If you plan to fly with a hover board, be sure to check with your air carrier.
- When riding in a car, keep the hover board where you can see it in case it shows signs of a problem.
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