Hoverboard battery blamed for Mayfair house fire that displaced family of 4
Mayfair row home fire: Hoverboard battery sparks early morning blaze in Philadelphia
The Red Cross is assisting a Philadelphia family after their Mayfair row home caught fire early Thursday morning. Investigators believe the blaze was caused by the lithium-ion battery of a hoverboard in the basement.
PHILADELPHIA - Investigators say a hoverboard is to blame for the early-morning fire that destroyed a home in Mayfair on Thursday. Now, the Red Cross is assisting the family of three.
Family escapes Mayfair fire
What we know:
The fire broke out in the basement of the row home in the 3000 block of McGee Avenue early Thursday morning.
Neighbors tell FOX 29 that they woke up to the smell of smoke coming from the home around 2:30 a.m. A woman who lived in the home woke up to a fire alarm, a friend said. The woman went downstairs and discovered the fire in the basement, before closing the door and instructing her family to get out.
The family was able to escape the home, and no one was reported injured.
Firefighters were able to get the fire under control and put out the flames.
Dig deeper:
Investigators then discovered the lithium-ion battery connected to the hoverboard in the basement, and called in a Hazmat crew.
Firefighters say hoverboard and scooter batteries are a growing concern, increasingly involved in fires. A recent report from the National Institute of Standards and Technology estimates that lithium-ion batteries have caused nearly 200,000 structure fires in the U.S. since 2011.
What's next:
The home was destroyed in the fire. The Red Cross of Philadelphia said it is assisting the family of four as they deal with the aftermath.
The Source: Information in this story is from the Philadelphia Fire Department, the National Institute of Standards and Technology and reporting from FOX 29's JoAnn Pileggi.