Bradford boy, 13, leads children to safety as hoverboard bursts into flames

The teenager called the emergency services and took the children, aged nine and eight, from the room when the board set alight as it was charging.

The three children and a 39-year-old woman, who was also in the house in Bradford, suffered smoke inhalation but were not seriously injured, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said.

The living room of the property, in St Mary’s Drive, Wyke, was gutted by the fire and the rest of the house was heavily smoke-logged.

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The fire service said the boy took the children to an upstairs bedroom, where he followed instructions given to him by call handlers to stop smoke from entering the room.

All three children were taken outside by the woman after she discovered the fire.

Mark Helliwell, fire investigator and station manager, said: “The children were in the living room when they saw smoke coming from the hoverboard and within seconds it suddenly exploded into flames.

“This must have been quite a scary experience for them as the fire quickly took hold of the sofa and spread rapidly throughout the living room, which has been left gutted, and the rest of the house is heavily smoke-logged.

“The teenager’s quick-thinking actions are certainly commendable and he later said that he remembered the fire service advice given in his school talk in Year 5.

“Fortunately everyone was able to get out of the house without sustaining serious injury, albeit having suffered smoke inhalation.”

The fire service said it was difficult to confirm the exact cause of the fire but it was likely that lithium batteries in the hoverboard overheated and exploded or ignited.