A Hoverboard Turned This $1M Home Into Rubble

Brian Fox lost his $1 million Nashville home on Jan. 9. He nearly lost something much more precious. "I thought, 'I'm going to lose two of my four children today,'" recounts Fox, whose two elder children found themselves trapped on the home's second story after a hoverboard caught fire on the first floor. A Nashville Fire Department rep tells the Tennessean that Hailey, 16, and Matthew, 14, heard noises downstairs around 11:40am. Fearing a possible intruder, they hid upstairs, reports WKRN. Those noises turned out to be the hoverboard, and they soon found themselves trapped; Matthew tried to open a door only to burn his hand on the knob.

He ultimately broke a bedroom window and escaped using a ladder Fox had retrieved after catching his daughter in his arms after she leaped from a bathroom window. The teens sustained minor injuries. The more than 4,000-square-foot house was "destroyed" by the toy, with the family only able to save a few pictures, reports NewsChannel 5. The Foxes bought the "FITURBO F1" for their son for Christmas on the recommendation of friends, reports Nashville Public Radio; the friends' "FITURBO F1" also caught fire, though it was a small blaze. After an investigation, the fire department believes "the lithium batteries are at the root cause of these fires." A press release from the State Fire Marshal's Office advises owners to always be present when the device is charging and to not leave it charging overnight. (A hoverboard managed to get a priest in trouble.)