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Hoverboard Catches Fire, Burns Carpet In NJ Home, Officials Say

LACEY TOWNSHIP, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Officials say they are investigating after a hoverboard caught fire in a New Jersey shore town.

Lanoka Harbor firefighters said Monday they responded to a call about one of the devices catching fire about 8:40 p.m. on Sunday.

The fire department published two photos on Facebook showing the charred hoverboard and surrounding carpet.

Lt. Chris Bruno says the device caught fire while charging and no one was injured.

Officials say the Ocean County fire marshal is investigating and that residents should not leave the boards unattended while charging.

Hoverboards are motorized, two-wheel, skateboard-sized scooters that users stand on. They have been a hot gift item at some retailers.

On social media, the hashtag #HoverboardFails has gone viral, with many uses posting pictures and video of their own mishaps with the motorized scooters, CBS2's Ben Tracy reported.

Just before Christmas, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reported the number of injuries associated with hoverboards are fires due to overheated batteries has spiked 25 percent. That is expected to rise dramatically in the post-holiday tally -- and worries some safety experts.

"You have a product that doesn't have to meet any safety requirements and is finding its way to the U.S. market," Sean Keane, founder of The Safety Institute, said.

The three largest U.S. airlines banned them because of potential fire danger from the lithium-ion batteries that power the devices.

Delta Airlines made the announcement banning the boards in early December, after a consumer alert was issued for the hugely popular motorized scooters.

(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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