You’ve probably seem them everywhere this summer — fidget spinners.
But if a child in your life has a particularly high-tech version of this popular toy, here’s a warning you need to hear!
Read more: Doctor urges parents to monitor kids’ usage of fidget spinners
Fiery fidget spinners: A case of hoverboards part deux?
Remember last year around this time when exploding hoverboards were in the news?
Now it seems like we have a new incendiary threat on our hands with Bluetooth-equipped spinners that play music through built-in speakers.
Local media outlets in Alabama and Michigan are reporting two separate incidents where Bluetooth-enabled spinners caught fire while charging.
A mother told WBRC in Gardendale, Alabama, that she heard her son screaming in late June shortly after he plugged in his Bluetooth fidget spinner.
“He noticed that it burst into flames and he just started screaming…all I heard was “Fire! Fire!”… and [the fidget spinner] was smoking, It was in flames,” she said.
That spinner was reportedly charging for less than 45 minutes. Damage was limited to a scorched section of carpet, but it could have turned out much worse if no one were home to put out the fire.
Meanwhile, a mother in Fenton, Michigan, told WSMH that she won’t buy any more fidget spinners after a Bluetooth-enabled one caught fire in her home after charging for less than 30 minutes.
“Right here in this bookcase, I could see the reflection,” she said. “The fidget spinner was on fire on my counter.”
Cautions to take when handling fidget spinners
The message here is clear: To be safe, you’ll probably want to steer clear of fidget spinners that need to be charged for any reason.
And if you do insist on getting one that has a built-in battery of some type, make sure you monitor it closely while charging.
Many of these fidget spinners are imported from China and getting in touch with manufacturer for recourse is difficult.
As a reminder, here are some other cautions about fidget spinners:
- Never put a fidget spinner anywhere near or in your mouth.
- Buy only U.S.-made fidget spinners that conform to our nation’s safety standards. Do a Google search for “U.S. made fidget spinners” to find them.
- Never use a fidget spinner that has loose parts. According to one doctor, those loose parts pose a choking hazard and “can obstruct the airway, obstruct breathing and cause essentially a life-threatening situation [that] could result in death.”
