Hoverboard Bursts Into Flames During UL Test

A private company that certifies electronics set a hoverboard on fire by externally heating the lithium-ion battery in order to educate firefighters. UL’s Firefighter Safety Research Institute posted a video on Monday, February 8, showing the procession of the fire. “FSRI wants to increase the knowledge of the fire service by showing what is happening prior to their arrival to these incidents,” a press release stated.

At 6:56 minutes into the test, the hoverboard’s battery pops and starts to smoke. After another approximately 15 seconds, the hoverboard bursts into flames. The pops from the board spews flames that catch other things in the room on fire.

“Fire investigators should also note the potential for multiple points of ignition as flaming components are projected away from the hoverboard,” UL wrote in a press release.

The press release states that the video shows what happens when the battery is overheated rather than if the battery was damaged externally.

UL has yet to certify self-balanced scooters, also known as hoverboards, but on February 2 put forth parameters to start testing them. Credit: YouTube/UL’s Firefighter Safety Research Institute