Hoverboard catches fire at Ukiah home

A hoverboard purchased as a Christmas gift caught fire while it was charging Thursday night at a home in Ukiah, the latest in a string of incidents involving the trendy toy.

A resident in the 700 block of El Rio Street reported the fire at 8:55 p.m. and Ukiah Valley Fire Authority crews arrived about 10 minutes later to find a police officer had extinguished the flaming toy, also known as an electric balancing wheel, fire engineer-paramedic Skip Williams said.

The resident said she had purchased it for $300 as a Christmas gift and was charging it up when she heard a strange sound, then saw smoke, he said. The woman took it onto the patio, where it ignited but did no damage to the home.

A fire investigator determined the hoverboard, equipped with a 42-volt charger and a 36-volt battery pack, was faulty and did not meet requirements for sale in the United States, Williams said.

CNET reported Tuesday on 12 incidents involving hoverboard batteries catching fire in the U.S., in some cases destroying bedrooms and even homes.

You can reach Staff Writer Guy Kovner at 521-5457 or guy.kovner@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @guykovner.