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LEHI — Armed with only an oven mitt, a Utah mom raced around her family room and kitchen, trying to smother several fires caused by an exploding hoverboard ride-on toy.
"They just started shooting out like fireworks," Tamilisa Miner said about the hoverboard's batteries.
It was just before 8:30 a.m. Thursday when her son alerted her to an issue with his hoverboard that was charging in the entryway.
"He said, 'Mom, there's something wrong with my hoverboard,'" Miner said.
A hoverboard explodes inside a home in Lehi.
— Ladd Egan (@laddegan) June 21, 2021
NEXT on @KSL5TV at 6 p.m. see how exploding batteries started more fires and how the mom jumped into action
"They just started shooting out like fireworks"
The warning the family has for other #Utah families@kslnewsradio@KSLcompic.twitter.com/mr9YJh4lMB
The family purchased the used hoverboard two weeks ago. The previous owner told them it was about a year old, according to Miner.
"I came over and it was billowing, just billowing this electrical smoke," Miner said.
With two of her young children next to her and her husband upstairs with their toddler, Miner jumped into action to protect her family.
She grabbed an oven mitt to try to move the hoverboard, but within seconds, the smoke grew more intense. She told her kids to get out and picked up her phone to call 911.
The family's security camera captured the scary moments as seconds later, the hoverboard exploded, just as their 8-year-old son was running in front of it. Luckily, he wasn't injured.
"Just the panic to see flames in your house," Miner said of the experience.
Batteries from the hoverboard then flew across the room and started other small fires.
"It was burning all the way from the inside," Miner said while examining the burnt hole in an upholstered chair. "It was like smoldering inside."
Her husband rushed downstairs and the two of them used fire extinguishers to put out the fires.
"This just saved my home and possibly our lives," Miner said while holding one of the used fire extinguishers. "Have one. Know where it is. Know how to use it because your brain goes mush when you're panicked."
The fire department responded and used thermal imaging to confirm that the fires were extinguished.
"Huge repercussions from just this little toy," Miner said.
Miner also warned other families of the potential danger from charging hoverboards.
"If you're not going to get rid of it, don't charge it out of your sight," Miner said. "Don't charge it at night. Don't charge it in your child's bedroom."
The family has started cleaning up after the fire, throwing out all of their food that's not canned.
"They're going to have to wash all the walls down. There's soot everywhere," Miner said. "There's a stink that hopefully goes away."
The family said they were grateful the fire happened when it did.
"I'm still in shock," Miner said. "I mean, what if we had been asleep?"
Miner said her homeowner's insurance company sent fire investigators to their home and that an investigation is underway.
