Family Says Fidget Spinner Caught Fire While Charging

Fidget spinners and hoverboards don’t have much in common on the surface, but they might be more alike than you think: Both are (or were) uber-popular toys for kids, appeared on the streets almost overnight, and can explode… if the toy contains a battery.

Sacramento CBS reports (warning: link contains video that autoplays) that the latest case of an overheated fidget spinner occurred over the weekend as the toy was charging.

As we’ve previously reported, fidget spinners have evolved from their modest designs with mechanical parts to include internal batteries that power bluetooth speakers, lights, and other features.

These batteries, like those used in hoverboards, can be charged — although it’s unclear if the batteries are lithium-ion. And that poses a problem, because if there’s a battery inside a thing, that thing can catch fire when you least expect it.

This was apparently the case in California, where a 12-year-old girl’s toy — equipped with a bluetooth speaker — began to smoke while charging.

The girl, who had picked up the toy, dropped it when she saw sparks. When the girl’s mother entered the room she tells Sacramento CBS that it was filled with smoke.

The spinner, she recalls, was so hot it burnt her hand when she tried to pick it up. The toy, which didn’t have any manufacturer information on it, was left with bubbled plastic.

“If I wasn’t home, that’s scary. That really scares me a lot,” the mother says, noting she was relieved no one was hurt.

Not The First Time

The incident is at least the third in recent months related to the popular fidget spinners. Last month, parents in Alabama and another in Michigan reported that fighter spinners caught fire while charging.

Consumerist has reached out to the Consumer Product Safety Commission about the latest incident, and whether the agency would open an investigation. We’ll update this post when we hear back.

In the meantime, the CPSC has previously advised fidget spinner owners to never leave a product unattended while charging.

The CPSC also urged anyone who has had a safety issue with a fidget spinner — or frankly, any other device, really — to report the problem at SaferProducts.gov.

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist