Family of five escapes electric skateboard fire - Yamba
Published: 09 Nov 2022 10:36am
A 12-year-old girl has suffered a serious case of smoke inhalation during a Lithium-ion battery fire at Yamba, on the state's north coast.
The child was woken around midnight by the crackling sound of her electric skateboard on fire as it charged in her bedroom within her family's Cameron Street home.
The girl and four members of her family safely made it out of the home as Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crews from Yamba, Maclean and Grafton arrived at the scene.
She was taken to hospital for further treatment.
Whilst extinguishing the fire, FRNSW crews discovered the home's smoke alarm was inoperative and missing a battery.
FRNSW urges the public to ensure their home's smoke alarms are maintained and in working order.
The electric skateboard was purchased as a Christmas gift last year.
Firefighters are warning Christmas shoppers to use caution this year when purchasing Lithium-ion-powered devices including micro-mobility vehicles, such as e-bikes, e-scooters and e-skateboards.
· Don’t over-charge Lithium-ion batteries or allow them to over-heat
· Always use compliant and approved charging stations/equipment
· Avoid dropping, crushing, piercing or vibrating the power cells
· Carefully and lawfully dispose of any battery that short-circuits, malfunctions and/or suffers a system fault/s
· Be aware of defects or contamination introduced during manufacture
Updated: 30 Jan 2023 09:13pm
Related safety topics
It's important that we all understand the risks of lithium-ion batteries and be prepared if things go wrong.
It“s the law to have at least one working smoke alarm installed on every level of your home.
Details about this incident may change and should not be used as emergency information and/or advice.
For all life threatening emergencies, call Triple Zero (000)
For flood information, warnings or requests for non-life threatening assistance, call the SES on 132 500 or visit the NSW State Emergency Service website here. [external link].
For information directly relating to bushfires please call the Bush Fire Information Line on 1800 679 737 or visit the NSW Rural Fire Service Website here. [external link]
Stations nearby
14 River Street, Yamba NSW 2464
251 River Street, Maclean NSW 2463
76 Woodburn Street, Evans Head NSW 2473