Hoverboard causes fire in Portland home, family escapes

PORTLAND – Authorities say a Portland family escaped their house after a hoverboard caused a fire.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reported the fire started at the foot of the stairs in a home in Southwest Portland Tuesday afternoon.

Portland fire spokesman Lt. Damon Simmons says a boy was trapped upstairs but escaped using a collapsible ladder according to the family’s fire escape plan.

Simmons says no one was injured.

Simmons says it wasn’t clear if the hoverboard exploded or otherwise caught fire.

More than a half million hoverboards were recalled in July 2016 after several caught fire or exploded.

Simmons says the boy’s father extinguished the flames before firefighters arrived. Firefighters removed smoked from the home.

Officials continue to investigate.