The risks surrounding so-called hoverboards have been widely documented. Many users have been burned – some literally – after the faulty self balancing scooters burst into flames.
But U.K. YouTube vlogger “BlueBritish” had a very close call with his new hoverboard, after it burst into flames during his inaugural ride.
According to his comments, he charged the self balancing scooter overnight before taking it for a test run. However, as you can see in the video, the device fails to work when he jumps on board. After a few tries smoke begins to appear under the device, but once the vlogger jumped back onboard the device bursts into flames.
READ MORE: Vancouver firefighters sounding alarm over hoverboard threat
“I started to stand back and look hesitant because I started to hear a kind of faint hissing sound just before the smoke I stood back to look down as to what it was. Before I could really react to that it was smoking then just went up in flames,” he wrote in the comments.
The YouTube user does not mention the brand name of the hoverboard; however, he did note that he purchased it from a seller on eBay.
“No wonder you’re not allowed to bring them on flights,” he said in the video.
Stories of hoverboards bursting into flames have been widely reported over the last two months. In December, Amazon pulled many popular hoverboard models from its website after authorities around the world issued warnings about the safety of the devices. Many airlines, including Air Canada, have barred travelers from bringing them on board planes.
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READ MORE: Amazon halts sales of some hoverboards due to fire risk
In December, more than 15,000 hoverboards were seized by U.K. officials due to safety concerns. According to the U.K.’s National Trading Standards board, officials found many concerns surrounding the plugs, cabling, chargers, batteries, or the cut-off switch within the boards, which sometimes fails. Officials said many of the hoverboards that were sent for testing were found to have noncompliant plugs without fuses, which increases the risk of the device overheating, exploding or catching fire.
Hoverboards aren’t the first gadgets to cause fire concerns. Over the years, there have been many reports of smartphone batteries catching fire.
When it comes to tech gadgets, in the majority of cases the device’s battery is to blame for any sort of fire, explosion, or melting.
READ MORE: Why lithium-ion smartphone batteries keep exploding
Most smartphones use lithium-ion batteries – the same batteries are found in laptops, cars and even commercial airplanes.
Lithium-ion batteries are widely used by tech manufactures because it’s the least dense metallic element; which means it packs a good amount of power in a lightweight package. But these batteries are also known to explode or produce flames.
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