Young NSW man Sam York woke to the crackle and pop of an electric skateboard battery exploding in flames in his bedroom.
His fast-thing father, Mal York, sprang into action — suffering burns as he carried the burning board to the front yard of their Roseville home in Sydney’s Upper North Shore just after 2am on Thursday.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Electric skateboard explodes inside home.
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Sam’s skateboard had been on a charge while leaning against his bedroom wall, which is now blackened and charred from the lithium-ion battery fire.
“I’m there just freaking out, sort of yelling ‘What am I going to do? There’s a fire,” Sam, 23, told 7NEWS.
That commotion woke Mal, 50, who told 7NEWS his paternal intuition kicked in.
“I wonder if it’s a parent’s instinct, you know … you hear that noise, and you think, ‘I’ve gotta get up’,” Mal said.
“I was just in survival mode, I guess. I just did what I could to get rid of that flame.”
Mal sustained burns to his face, hands and feet on his barefoot dash from Sam’s room to the front yard carrying the burning board, but he told 7NEWS the outcome could have been worse.
“If the fire had spread quicker, it could have been absolutely drastic,” he said.
Both father and son headed to the hospital, where Sam was treated for suspected smoke inhalation and Mal for burns.
Fire and Rescue NSW Commissioner Jeremy Fewtrell told 7NEWS: “My greatest concern is that we will see an increase in the number of lithium-ion battery fires.”
A concerning number of incidents have already occurred in the state this year — with 200 lithium-ion battery fires already recorded.
Two people have lost their lives as a result of the fires.
In NSW in 2023, there were 270 lithium-ion battery fires.
“Be really careful, and be really attentive to the batteries,” Fewtrell said.
Firefighters advise charging larger devices outdoors or in a garage, away from living spaces and exits.
They do not advise overnight charging, or charging the devices too far away — and once the battery is fully charged, disconnect it.
