(Newswire.net — March 12, 2017) — One person died and several more were injured in a fire that destroyed a family house in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The cause of the fire is suspected to be a rechargeable hoverboard.
A self-balancing scooter is the most likely culprit behind the devastating fire that claimed the life of a 3-year-old girl and left two more in critical condition, according to the fire chief. Ashanti Hughes suffered burns on over 95 percent of her body and succumbed to her injures.
Five people in total had to be rescued, two are still in a critical condition, from an accidental fire that consumed a house in Harrisburg. Authorities say that the fire was reported around 8pm local time at a family house in Lexington Street, and it may have been caused by a malfunctioned hoverboard.
According to the family, “sizzling and cracking” noises were heard from the rechargeable scooter and were coming from the socket.
Self-balancing scooters were declared unsafe by the federal regulatory body following the reports of unreasonable risk of fire that have been piling up for months. “Consumers risk serious injury or death if their self- balancing scooters ignite and burn,” the CPSC said, ruling that hoverboards indeed possess an unreasonable risk of causing a fire, and “do not meet voluntary safety standards.”
The federal regulator issued a hoverboard warning after “reports from consumers in 24 states, of 52 self-balancing scooter fires resulting in over $2 million in property damage.”
According to the federal watchdog, “unreasonable risk of injuries and deaths associated with fires in these products, would be prevented if all such products were manufactured in compliance with the referenced voluntary safety standards.”
There is no mandatory recalling of a product upon receiving such a notice from the independent company that performs the safety testing of these electronic devices, however, the results should trigger the manufacturers and sellers to react accordingly.
According to CPSC chairman, Elliot F. Kaye, quoted by Mashable, retailers “will start the process to make any potential recall easier.”
The decision to issue a notice to the hoverboard industry was made even though none of the products the agency tested were caught on fire.