Just over a week after the Metropolitan Police warned that "hoverboards" are illegal in public, the London Fire Brigade has tweeted that they've been called to two fires caused by the controversial self-balancing scooters in as many weeks.
So if being sniggered at in the street and running the risk of getting arrested wasn't enough to put you off, it looks like a few faulty "hoverboards" may now be starting fires too.
While most other brands and organisations are publishing cheesy, tongue-in-cheek posts about Back to the Future Day, the London Fire Brigade has taken this opportunity to warn people about the dangers of "hoverboards" or more accurately, self-balancing scooters.
According to the London Fire Brigade, earlier this month four fire engines and around 20 firefighters were called out to a fire that started in a flat in Southwark and involved an "electric uni-cycle" that was charging. Luckily the owner of the flat heard a loud bang and evacuated the property straight away, so no one was hurt. A similar incident happened a week before in Morden when a charging electric hoverboard caught fire while also charging. Scary stuff.
The London Fire Brigade has offered some advice to those with hoverboards who are concerned: "Today we are warning owners of this year's must-have device to not leave them charging unattended, after being called to two fires in two weeks involving personal transporters that were on charge."
However, BBC Watchdog explored the dangers of the self-balancing scooter craze and found it's not all devices that are at risk but is probably those that come with faulty plugs that aren't made for use in Britain. Some of them were found to not have fuses inside, putting them at risk of overheating and exploding.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
