FRESNO (KMJ) — A hoverboard recall being highlighted by the federal government, already has local support.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced that battery packs in the two-wheeled motorized scooters were catching fire or exploding, in some cases causing burns and damaging homes. It sparked a recall of 501,000 of them.
But that concern was preempted back in March when all CSU campuses, including Fresno State, banned the devices outright.
“The fact that they’re going to recall maybe 500+ thousand of them, that’s outstanding”, says Fresno State’s Associate Vice President for Facilities Management Robert Boyd.
“It seems like everyone’s concerned about the potential fire hazard that has been reported. We have not had any of those issues here but at the same time…we were compelled to put the ban in place to try to reduce that conflict”.
He adds that the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s involvement supports their drive to emphasize safety on campus.
“When you have something like that that’s potentially a fire hazard in a classroom, or even in an environment where we have young people around, we really felt compelled there needs some type of regulatory ban on those until they get that problem resolved”.
A complete list of models named by the Consumer Product Safety Commission can be found below. More information about the recall, and how to return affected units, can be found clicking here.
Manufacturer/Importers:
| Company | Number of Units | Brand/Model
Sold |
Firm’s Recall
|
| Digital Gadgets LLC, of Monroe, N.J.
|
16,000 |
Hover-Way/Model # HWSBB601-R | 16-213
|
| Hoverboard LLC, of Scottsdale, Ariz. |
70,000 |
Powerboard | 16-210
|
| Hype Wireless, of Edison, N.J. |
25,000 | Hype Roam | 16-217 |
| Keenford Ltd., of Hong Kong | 84,000 | iMoto | 16-216 |
| PTX Performance Products USA of Irvine, CA |
4,900 |
Airwalk Self Balancing Electric Scooter | 16-208 |
| Razor USA LLC, of Cerritos, Calif.
|
28,000 |
Hovertrax | 16-215 |
| Swagway LLC, of South Bend, Ind. | 267,000 | Swagway X1 | 16-211 |
| Yuka Clothing, of Miami, Fla. |
800 |
Wheeli, 2Wheelz, Back to the Future, Mobile Tech, Hover Shark, NWS, X Glider and X Rider | 16-209 |
Retail Stores:
| Boscov’s, of Reading, Pa. | 1,300 | Orbit | 16-212 |
Online Retailers:
| Overstock.com, of Salt Lake City, Utah |
4,300 |
All hoverboards sold on Overstock.com | 16-214
|
Hear the story from KMJ’s Dominic McAndrew as it aired:
