PSA: Kids' ride-on toys...

[carla]

Just thought I'd put this out there.. my best friend's house burned down earlier this week. She had only been gone for probably less than an hour (but thank goodness she was gone!).

Anyways, the investigators have determined the cause to be her daughter's Power Wheels John Deere Gator which was charging on the back porch. Not sure yet if they think the vehicle itself caught on fire, or whether it started w/in the wall...

Either way, something to think about! For my son's Power Wheels truck, we remove the battery and bring it in to charge overnight sometimes. I believe this one had been charging for some time, though. Apparently, many of the firefighters admitted to having one plugged in at their own home at the time. :(

[cloedoll]

Oh my gosh, I'm really sorry about your friend's house! :( Thanks for sharing with us, though...that's crazy.

[PoniesRock101]

EEK!!! thats horrible, something you would never expect to burn now your whole house! thanks for the warning........... Glad your friend is alright.

[vicklynn]

Ya know, that should be for ALL recharging items.
My husband was recharging his flashlight, its one of those big guys. His door is closed while he is away, and he came home, told me he was looking into buying a new adapter, why, cause his burnt up, AT the plug in.
I tell him ALL the time, unplug your sh!t while you are gone. Hopefully this will ring home for him.
If it needs charging, charge it, and UNPLUG it.

[carla]

Exactly, PR! I kept picturing maybe a small fire area and then maybe a lot of smoke damage for the rest, but WOW- it was much worse than that! The entire upstairs looks to be totally charred, from the pics. No roof, etc. They're expecting to have to just level it.

It is so eery to see it in pics, I can't imagine walking through your own home and seeing it like that.

Cloe- thanks. Crazy indeed!

[carla]

Amen, Vick! I agree. The lady across the street (from me) had a fire a few years back- but it was more of a smoulder/melt down than flames. Still had to gut the whole house, though.

Anyway, hers was from her coffee pot being plugged in. The FD said they weren't even sure it was ON! So now I'm a complete freak about unplugging stuff when I leave in the mornings.. coffee pot, hair dryer, toaster, etc. So scary!

[Gypsy Rose]

Yikes! That's scary! Thanks for the heads up!

[JackieB]

Poor family. Thank goodness they weren't home sleeping or something.

[carla]

Oh, I know it JackieB! Can you imagine? Especially being upstairs and all.. eek.

Another good thing- they have a dog, and she is ALWAYS going EVERYWHERE with bff, with the exception of very few places. Thankfully, she was with them that morning as well!