Fire and Rescue NSW says a 12-year-old girl has suffered a serious case of smoke inhalation during a lithium-ion battery fire at Yamba, south of Ballina.
The child was woken around midnight by the crackling sound of an electric skateboard on fire as it charged in her bedroom within her family’s Cameron Street home.
The girl and four members of her family safely made it out of the home as Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crews from Yamba, Maclean and Grafton arrived at the scene.
She was taken to hospital for further treatment.
Whilst extinguishing the fire, FRNSW crews discovered the home’s smoke alarm was inoperative and missing a battery.
FRNSW urges the public to ensure their home’s smoke alarms are maintained and in working order.
The electric skateboard was purchased as a Christmas gift last year.
Firefighters are warning Christmas shoppers to use caution this year when purchasing Lithium-ion-powered devices including micro-mobility vehicles, such as e-bikes, e-scooters and e-skateboards.
The warning for these types of items are:
• Don’t overcharge Lithium-ion batteries or allow them to overheat
• Always use compliant and approved charging stations/equipment
• Avoid dropping, crushing, piercing or vibrating the power cells
• Carefully and lawfully dispose of any battery that short-circuits, malfunctions and/or suffers a system fault/s
• Be aware of defects or contamination introduced during manufacture.
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