House fire in DC caused by hoverboard

WASHINGTON - Fire officials say a hoverboard is to blame for causing a fire at a Southwest D.C. home Friday evening.

The fire happened at around 6 p.m. at a two-story duplex in 4800 block of 1st Street.

The family told authorities that a hoverboard it had received as a Christmas present was charging in a bedroom when it ignited.

There was no one injured, but a woman and her two children have been displaced as a result of the fire. The American Red Cross is assisting the family.

Hoverboard fires have been a problem in the past and the Consumer Product Safety Commission even recalled more than 500,000 hoverboards last July after receiving dozens of reports of hoverboard battery packs exploding or catching on fire.