Hoverboard causes garage fire in east Vancouver, officials say

A garage fire in east Vancouver that displaced a family of five was caused by a hoverboard, according to fire investigators.

Residents at 3329 N.E. 124th Ave. smelled smoke and went to find fire in the attached garage at about 11:20 a.m. Sunday, Vancouver Fire Marshal Heidi Scarpelli said.

They called 911, sending firefighters to the residence where they found flames coming from the garage.

A crew of 21 firefighters ran about 200 feet of hose down the narrow driveway to the house, Vancouver Fire Department spokesman Pete Adams said. It took the crew about 20 minutes to bring the fire under control, he said.

No one was injured but two adults and three children were displaced.

A hoverboard was located in the area of origin of the fire, Scarpelli said, and was determined to be the cause of the blaze. It resulted in a $117,500 loss from damaged structure and contents.

More than 500,000 hoverboards were recalled in July 2016 after some of the motorized scooters overheated, burned riders and damaged property. At the time, there had been 99 reports to the Consumer Product Safety Commission of hoverboard battery packs that exploded or catching fire, according to the U.S. regulator.