Video shows frantic moments when hoverboard catches fire
By ARIEL MALLORY
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ALABAMA (WALA) — Frantic moments inside a local home were caught on camera after a fire broke out near two children.
The father, Jeremy Hackett, believes it was his son’s hoverboard that went up in a flash.
“I heard something like a boom, like somebody fell,” Hackett said.
In the surveillance video, you can see the spark coming from the boys’ bedroom. That’s when the father jumps to grab the fire extinguisher, and his wife rushes to get the two boys out of the room as smoke quickly spreads. The bottom half of his bed was left torched.
Hackett said the hoverboard was charging the night before.
“It’s a scary feeling, but at times like that as a father you can’t panic. You got to think with a clear head,” Hackett said. “I know it’s hard for a lot of people but you have to think with a clear head because by panicking you could have made it worse.”
Hackett said he’ll be sitting down with his kids to explain what to do in the future.
“We never talked about what happened as a fire but now we gonna go through the motions,” Hackett said. “Cause it took them a minute but thank God they got up when they did though.”
Steven Millhouse with Mobile Fire-Rescue said it’s a good idea to have a plan.
“Everyone should have a plan which means plans of egress,” Millhouse said. “How you’re going to get out of the house and a meeting place outside of the home. So especially again when you have young children.”
Millhouse said this father’s quick thinking is what possibly saved his family’s lives.
“If you have a fire that’s manageable grab the extinguisher and put it out,” Millhouse explained. “And in this case, dad was definitely the hero. He was able to quickly recognize what was happening in his home grabbed the extinguisher, put it out, get his kids, get out of the home.”
The dad said they don’t have any plans of replacing that hoverboard.
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