Local family's hoverboard catches fire

CYPRESS, Texas – One of the most popular holiday wish list items went up in flames and exploded after its 13-year-old rider from Cypress spent less than 10 minutes on it.

"I'm outside and I start to realize it's smoking coming from the middle, and so I hop off, I go and get my dad." said Kole Boucher, former hoverboard owner.
    
The video shot by Kole's dad is from September when Kole won a coveted hoverboard at a church raffle.

Kole came home the next day from school excited to jump on his new toy, and within minutes it started smoking. It then exploded several times.
    
"Pretty violent explosions. You can see in the video where I put the fire out with the fire extinguisher. I took a step back, and then it blew up and burst into flames again," said Kole's father, Dustin Boucher.     

The Bouchers' case is one of 10 being investigated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

In one instance a hoverboard caused a house in Louisiana to burn down.

Others went up in flames at a mall kiosk south of Seattle and in Alabama.    

The Boucher family recommends anyone considering the hoverboard for a gift should do their research.

They realize their situation could've had a more dire outcome.

"I was actually charging it up in my room for that night. And then it could've happened there, it could've happened in the house, it could've happened when my nephew was here," said Boucher.

Technology experts believe the problem causing the hoverboards to burst into flames is the lithium batteries that power the devices.  

Another problem is that because the hoverboard isn't a toy or a vehicle, it's not regulated by any federal agency.