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Family Says Toddler's Shoes Burst Into Flame

They were powered by lithium batteries
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted May 9, 2016 1:38 PM CDT
Family Says Toddler's Shoes Burst Into Flame
The shoes are sold by Payless.   (Payless)

A Texas couple is warning parents about light-up shoes after their 2-year-old son's pair apparently burst into flame. Attila and Jovan Virag say they found a fire in the backseat of their SUV on Saturday. When the flames were extinguished, there was a hole in the floor, a melted seat, and half a shoe, powered by lithium batteries. "I didn't know there's a battery in there that could be flammable if it's shorted," Attila tells KHOU.

"I'm just glad that my son wasn't wearing it," says Jovan. "I don't want this to happen to somebody else," she adds. "It's scary." Fire officials say the $25 shoes—purchased at Payless and decorated with characters from the Disney Junior show Jake and the Never Land Pirates—may have sparked the fire, but the official cause hasn't been determined. The family, however, says there were only shoes and clothes in the car. (More fire stories.)

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