Hoverboard Fire In North End Causes $100K In Damage

BOSTON (CBS) -- A fire that broke out in a North End apartment was caused by a hoverboard, according to the fire department.

Flames broke out in a bedroom on the third floor of the Hanover Street building around 9 p.m. Sunday.

"Witnesses in the apartment told the investigators that they head a pop and then when they came into the room, the hoverboard was on fire and it extended to the walls," said Boston Fire spokesman Steve MacDonald.

Neighbors awoke to a dangerous scene.

"We heard a loud pop, bang, or something, and then we heard someone screaming out here so I opened the door to go down the stairs to see what was happening and I saw smoking coming up there," a man who lives in the building told WBZ. "I grabbed my two kids and we all ran out of here."

Everyone inside escaped safely.  But, damage was estimated at $100,000 and people living in three apartments were forced out of their homes.

Hoverboards have been known to cause fires when their lithium batteries overheat and catch fire.

In January, Emerson College banned them from their campus. In February, a hoverboard caught fire in a Chelmsford home.

The restoration company boarded up the apartment where the fire broke out.

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• Fire