Family Warns About Old Hoverboard Recalls After Fire Destroys Home
STONEHAM (CBS) - In minutes the Mahoneys' home that had been in the family more than 70 years became a charred mess in a fire last month.
"Oh yeah, we have a lot of memories especially here in the kitchen. My family, when I was younger with my grandparents, a lot of us spent a lot of time in the kitchen," said Jon Mahoney.
Another memory in the kitchen is one they would like to forget, but Meghan and Jon are sharing it as a lesson.
"Without much thought, I just plugged into the hoverboard and I plugged it into the nearest outlet, which was in the kitchen," said Meghan Mahoney.
While cleaning out, Meghan found the hoverboard they bought for their girls for Christmas four years ago. She said they bought an expensive American-made one because she thought it was safer. It was heading to the trash, but they charged it for one last ride. Everyone in the house was gone except for one daughter on the second floor.
"She heard a bang downstairs. She called us panicking," said Meghan.
She face-timed her parents who called first responders.
"Then she opened the bathroom door and I watched as black smoke came rushing in," said Meghan.
Their 14-year old jumped from the roof above the front door to escape.
"That's where the hoverboard was," said Jon pointing to the kitchen floor.
The bang, their daughter heard, was the hoverboard's battery exploding. It had only been charging for an hour and a half.
After the fire, the Mahoneys found out the hoverboard was part of a 2016 recall. It was one of many recalled over fire concerns surrounding the lithium ion batteries.
"She used it for like two weeks and never touched it again. You know a lot of people are like those are recalled, well out of sight out of mind," said Meghan.
They're worried other families will pull out the toys forgetting about the recalls, especially now that they are again a hot Christmas item.
"It could make millions of kids in our situation, dig them out of the closet and plug them in again," said Meghan.
They don't want anyone to be in their situation.