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NEWS STARTS HERE: As of a couple days ago, 12/29/15 there are now 22 reported fires from the 11 we heard about just a couple weeks ago. It's a bit frustrating that all the news reports omit the discussion of where the hoverboard was purchased and what "brand" it was if any. All that info is crucial for the rest of us. Instead, the media just feeds us with the photos and videos to get attention. We need information!!!! Ugh.
As of 1/20/16, there have been 40 incidences of fires across 19 states. Unless mentioned otherwise below, all incidences have occurred with 1st generation models. After over one month of research, I have yet to see an instance of a 4th generation hoverboard catching on fire. Good for me.
Not all fires make it to the news. Plenty of boards from Youtube.
This is the most violent one I've seen to date:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PlEPCjMdbM
Date unknown: Even more rare incident of a third generation hoverboard blowing up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgmxGhlR_p8&ebc=ANyPxKqxIcr2NDjblM9NieNRJMaFgSdtO9_NNl_zpc80wKHDcgWTknRYhpcckG9Vla1PNd9zRzEhIPdkMa1dvGgoMfBMiCCsgQ
Date unknown: Rare incident of a second generation hoverboard blowing up:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngZpSF590Jo&ebc=ANyPxKqxIcr2NDjblM9NieNRJMaFgSdtO9_NNl_zpc80wKHDcgWTknRYhpcckG9Vla1PNd9zRzEhIPdkMa1dvGgoMfBMiCCsgQ
- 1/8/16 http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/Hoverboard-Catches-Fire-in-Fox-River-Grove-House-364721841.html
Another first gen fire. Victims were living under a rock somewhere in River Grove where they charged this thing overnight and didn't discover the fire until it woke them up at 5am. No other details of course. Shame shame Trina Orlando. - 2/9/16 http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2016/02/09/hoverboard-blamed-destroying-1-million-home/80064580/
First generation style fire. Congratulations Natalie and Jordan! You got the name of the board! "Fiturbo F1." Their website doesn't state the address. That's quite the red flag. This time, a board destroys a million dollar home. This is the first of this magnitude. 4,000 square feet. This incident was quite a bit more serious as the two kids had to jump out of windows to safety. - 2/16/16 http://abc7chicago.com/news/hoverboard-explodes-in-orland-park-home/1201230/
5 foot flames. Smart kid knows to grab a fire extinguisher that happened to be nearby, probably an A rated one. Ohio incident. Again, no real useful info. - This time on a 2nd generation model! Referred to as the "Transformer" style by some. Do any of the articles disclose where the board was purchased? Of course not! That would be too responsible of a question to ask. We know it happened in Illinois. Jessica who wrote the article above only says that the "manufacturer" is under investigation by the CPSC, meaning she knows who the manufacturer is but decides to leave that little tidbit out of the story! Ugh, when will they start giving us useful information? Does the fact that she mentions that Amazon offers full refunds while discussing other incidences suggest that this particular one was purchased from Amazon? Luckily these guys confirmed it's from Amazon: Luckily these guys confirmed it's from Amazon. But even then, we know there are a ton of sellers on Amazon. That's like saying they got it, "at a store." Yeah, "Duh!" Does no one any good to hear that yet another fire started while a hoverboard is being charged. We know this one was owned for 3-4 days according to another article. The board bursted into flames after being charged for 15 minutes. Sounds familiar.
- 1/25/16 http://www.thv11.com/story/news/local/2016/01/25/first-hoverboard-explosion-arkansas/79317316/
Charged for 1.5 hours before it blew up. End of story. You're not supposed to charge these things for more than an hour! 45 minutes to be safe. 1.5 hours? Come on! Come out from under your rock.
Amazon seller. Which seller? Of course the article doesn't mention it b/c simply, "Amazon" is good enough. Brand? They made an attempt but perhaps the journalist just isn't savvy enough to know that "Smart Balance Wheel" is not a brand. It's pretty much what every China vendor calls their hoverboard. - 1/29/16 http://bringmethenews.com/2016/01/29/hoverboard-explodes-causes-fire-in-wisconsin-home/
Monorover fire! This article actually mentions the brand too! Good job Shaymus McLaughlin! Monorover for all who aren't aware is one of the brands that are looked highly upon. Or at least had been.
- 1/27/16 http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-f-south-whitehall-hoverboard-fire-20160127-story.html
I hate to say it like this, but this appears to be the only smart family to have fallen victim to a hoverboard fire and finally, an article that discloses the brand. This fire came from a Swagway X1. They even have the model number. Good job Matt Coughlin and Manuel Gamiz Jr. Thank you for actually completely the article with useful information. This is one of the most comprehensive reports of a hoverboard fire incident. I wish these two had reported all the other incidences. If that were true, we'd have so much more valuable information to work with. All reporters should look up to these two guys to know how to conduct some journalism.
This one burst into flames while it was being ridden, not while charging. Kids had owned it for about a month. This is news b/c most of the fires happened with boards when they were days or a week new.
Parents were hesitant to buy the hoverboards b/c of the fires. Rightfully so. They put strict rules on the kids to charge only 45 minutes and never charge it overnight. Good rules. Yet, even then, it burst into flames. The parents aren't the only smart ones. After the mom threw water on it which only caused the fire to get bigger, the daughter suggested putting flour on it. That worked, at least momentarily. The dad took the hoverboard out into the snow and there another battery cell popped. - Another Petaluma fire: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/5128974-181/hoverboard-burns-in-petaluma-home
This one ignited while charging like the others. Model description was disclosed as Mini Smart Self balancing 2 Wheel Electric Scooter with LED light which doesn't say much but at least it's something.
- 2/4/16 http://www.petaluma360.com/news/5167811-181/hoverboard-started-exploding-in-petaluma
Petaluma fire. Article says it's from Amazon, but of course it doesn't say which of the 50+ sellers it's from. Reporters really have to stop taking, "Amazon" for an answer w/o asking any more questions. This incident is another example of how this type of fire can reignite after being "extinguished."
- 2/4/16 http://www.yourerie.com/news/local-news/hoverboard-catches-fire-inside-mckean-township-home
This is a scary one. This is the second incident where a hoverboard had bursted into flames while just sitting there. This time instead of in a box at a mall being held by a vendor, it had bursted into flames while sitting in a garaged car! I can only assume it was not being charged. Imagine waking up to a fire in your car. The car is toast and the hoverboard to say the least, is useless. Did the author of this article reporting this incident mention where the hoverboard was purchased? Nope, of course not. She probably failed to ask b/c that piece of information just really isn't that important. Ugh!
- 1/30/16 http://www.willitsnews.com/general-news/20160205/fire-safety-hoverboard-risks
Are we supposed to clap for this guy? There's literally once sentence in this article that talks about the actual incident. The rest is a bullet point outline of what's already in the CPSC website. Of course they left out the most important piece of information yet again. Where did the folks buy the hoverboard???? Ugh, so frustrating. That's all people care about, yet the info is missing.
Another writer took the time to ask where the board was purchased, but of course took the answer and didn't ask for anymore details. http://abc7news.com/news/hoverboard-likely-sparked-bay-area-house-fire-that-killed-dogs/1166917/ It was from Amazon. But what seller? Come on. That's like saying you got something on Ebay! There are at least 50 sellers of hoverboards on Amazon.
- 2/3/16 http://www.whio.com/news/news/local/hoverboard-while-charging-starts-a-house-fire/nqJSh/
Another useless article giving us no information on where a flaming hoverboard was purchased nor the brand name. Is the media that stupid? The most important info is omitted? What good does it serve the public to hear about another damaged family home? Do your job media! Give us useful information we can use! No info on where the family got the hoverboard and no brand name given. We just know this as another reported fire of a hoverboard while charging. That tells us nothing other than the people it's happening to who are complaining of damaged homes aren't watching the news about how "not to charge it indoors and how you absolutely need to keep an eye on it."
- 1/18/15 Another hoverboard fire on a first generation model. You can't even see the shell since it burned up in flames, but the rims give it away as to which model it is: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3405267/Exploding-hoverboard-nearly-killed-three-children-set-fire-house-charged.html The board only started to light up AFTER the charger was removed. Source of this hoverboard? Costco!
- 1/16/16 Guy gets robbed at gunpoint for his hoverboard. http://www.khou.com/story/news/crime/2016/01/17/man-robbed-gunpoint-hoverboard/78934424/ I was worried about this with Segways being $5,000. At $300-500, that's almost like robbing someone for their bicycle. If you can afford a gun, you can afford a hoverboard. Duh!
This guy decides to charge the hoverboard overnight depsite what every media outlet is saying about not to do that. While riding it, the hoverboard bursts into flames: http://www.cnet.com/news/hoverboard-unboxing-video-ends-in-fiery-fail/ He also puts water on it which is a big no no for electrical fires, particularly ones from lithium batteries.
- 12/31/15 fire at Ritz CarltonL http://www.ajc.com/news/news/state-regional/unattended-hoverboard-ignites-sets-ritz-cartlon-ro/npwFD/
It was being charged and unattended.
- 12/29/15 fire from a boxed hoverboard: http://fortune.com/2015/12/29/hoverboard-fire/
We heard about the mall fire in Washington, but more recently a new one in Texas. This was the third one apparently in the state of Texas. This time a witness said that the fire started on a hoverboard that wasn't being ridden. It wasn't even charging. It was sitting in a box! Video shows it. Self combustion! That's the worst kind that all airlines are afraid of. Apparently, the box was being brought to the kiosk from another location.
- 12/28/15 New Jersey fire: http://pix11.com/2015/12/28/hoverboard-bursts-into-flames-in-new-jersey-home/
From Amazon.com. Blew up after just 2 days while being charged in a living room for just 15 minutes. Kid is smart enough to grab a fire extinguisher to put it out while mom calls the fire department. I need to buy a fire extinguisher tomorrow!
Latest reported incident of hoverboard fire. This time in Los Angeles's Koreatown:
http://ktla.com/2015/12/30/caught-on-video-hoverboard-fire-on-koreatown-sidewalk-prompts-lafd-responds/ What worries me is that this is the third generation model! It's not the first gen as we've seen in 100% of the videos so far in the media. This one also had cost $600 compared to the $200 ones in recent news.
Read this statement from the CPSC:
http://www.cpsc.gov/en/About-CPSC/Chairman/Kaye-Biography/Chairman-Kayes-Statements/Statements/Statement-from-the-US-CPSC-Chairman-Elliot-F-Kaye-on-the-safety-of-hoverboards/
UC SCHOOLS BAN HOVERBOARDS:
12/17/15 3:26pm:
I will add update to the top of this page as I become aware of the information.
UC schools have banned them on their college campuses. So much for riding this between classes at UC Davis. https://www.yahoo.com/news/hoverboards-hot-holidays-despite-concerns-015010656.html
AMAZON NEWS:
One of the people I reached out to regarding their opinion on my melting adapter forwarded me an article indicating Amazon is not only pulling vendors off their list on their site, but has emailed customers who had purchased hoverboards to dispose of the product into the closest recycle center and they will be issued a full refund within 3 days: https://www.yahoo.com/tech/amazon-tells-customers-trash-unsafe-hoverboards-offers-full-031507563.html
Update: 3:34pm: This site says it's only the UK where Amazon is offering refunds and encouraging recycling of the hoverboards: http://q13fox.com/2015/12/16/feds-working-non-stop-on-hoverboard-fires/
I guess there is a benefit to buying from Amazon afterall. Still no regrets about not getting it from there. I'm a lot more comfortable with my 4th generation model vs the buying 1st generation ones from Amazon which has an overwhelming number of resellers which we know weren't looked closely at by Amazon before allow them to sell the product on their site.
Having said that, I haven't asked my vendor if they'd be willing to issue a refund. Doubtful as they've already agreed to send me a new charger. I'd have to at least try that and experience a problem before they'd consider. I get it. We'll see.
USPS LIMITING DELIVERIES OF HOVERBOARDS:
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2015/12/17/hoverboard-safety-fire-brentwood-consumer-product-safety-commission-usps/ They're still shipping them, but not internationally and by plane. They will only ship by ground.
LG BATTERIES MAY BE ILLEGITIMATE:
Apart from ripping off the head of the CEO of Swagway and making him look like the bad guy b/c he's rich (which the American media likes to do more often than not), this article contains a quote from the LG battery division spokesperson saying that the hoverboards do not contain LG batteries: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3363005/It-s-like-iPhone-explosions-TV-explosions-refrigerator-explosions-Owner-largest-hoverboard-company-defends-product-keeps-bursting-flames-hides-gated-mansion.html
That's really bad news. Either it's a flat out lie or hoverboard manufacturers are buying LG cells and packing the battery packs themselves. If the latter were the case, they should have LG labels on them necessarily b/c that would suggest that the battery pack itself was assembled by LG. Samsung had no comment so far.
This is really bad news. Ugh!
THE FIRST REPORTED EXPLODING HOVERBOARD NOT SOLD ON AMAZON (THAT I'VE SEEN):
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/man-sues-hoverboard-maker-swagway-over-fire-damaged-his-home-n481336 Swagway is so popular that some equate the the term Swagway to the hoverboard like Kleenex is to facial tissue. Swagway is the only brand of hoverboards sold by Modell's Sporting Goods in Indiana.
THIS PHOTOGRAPH ALONE MIGHT MAKE ME TOSS THE HOVERBOARD TONIGHT:
http://news.sky.com/story/1606795/why-are-death-trap-hoverboards-exploding
WHY THEY ARE EXPLODING:
http://news.sky.com/story/1606795/why-are-death-trap-hoverboards-exploding Same article above indicates that they are exploding due to "non-compliant UK plugs w/o fuses." This might explain the UK issue, but the same hasn't yet been said of the US versions. This still begs the question of whether it's the charger issue or the hoverboard issue. This is not the first article I've read where it claims the "power cutoff switch failed." This means that the batteries exploding comes from being charged for too long. Unplug it when it's fully charged and everything will be fine? Perhaps, but that's still a safety issue. Companies can't assume that a chargeable device will be unplugged immediately. How many of us sleep with iphones charged? Not me (anymore), but I know a bunch of you do it so you have 100% in the morning.
LIST OF RETAILERS PULLING HOVERBOARDS OFF THEIR SHELVES: (I'll keep updating this list as more information becomes available. Feel free to comment below if I'm missing anything.
Amazon
Overstock.com
Modell's Sporting Goods (I presume)
Target
John Lewis
Argos
Tesco
Retail Ombudsman
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