Hoverboard blamed for house fire after 10-minute charge turns into blaze

The authorities weren’t kidding when they issued warnings about substandard ‘hoverboards’ posing a fire risk, as one Australian consumer has just found out.

A self-balancing scooter is believed to have sparked a blaze that burnt down a house in Melbourne after being left on charge for just 10 minutes.

The five-member family living there managed to escape unharmed but, judging by homeowner Ash Ibraheim’s account of the incident, it could have been a whole lot worse.

“My daughter came running into the lounge room and said there was a fire in the bedroom,” he told ABC News. “I ran there to try to put it out but it was too late as the bed had caught fire.

“In the panic of it all, I slipped, fell on my back. And then by the time I sort of came to stand up there was an explosion and I just sort of scrambled and ran out.”

Fire safety officials later confirmed that the hoverboard’s lithium ion batteries​ overheated, resulting in it catching fire.

Ibraheim said he was aware of the risk posed by substandard scooters, but had researched this particular model before purchase.

The brand and supplier of the dodgy gadget, which was bought in Sydney, are being tracked down.