PALM COAST, Fla. – A Flagler County mother says a hoverboard her son was given for Christmas was the cause of a large fire at her home in Palm Coast.
According to Chief Gerald Forte with the Palm Coast Fire Department, the fire was contained to two rooms of the duplex on Buttonbush Lane. It took firefighters between 15 and 20 minutes to get the fire out.
Melissa Bodiford told WKMG News 6 that her mother gave her 11-year-old son a hoverboard for Christmas. She said her son and her 6-year-old daughter were playing outside with the board on Thursday.
According to Bodiford, about 20 minutes after they came back inside the house, she watched as the hoverboard exploded.
"Three big booms," Bodiford told WKMG News 6. "Everything went to shaking up. Everything went falling. Everything went to blowing up, and I just had to save my kids."
She said the board, which was purchased from Walmart, was not being charged and not plugged into a wall outlet. Firefighters said no injuries were reported in the fire.
The American Red Cross is assisting the family.