Charging hoverboard catches fire in Boulder

A charging hoverboard exploded and caught fire at a University of Colorado Boulder student's apartment.

According to Gabriel Rojas, he and his friends were playing "Super Smash Bros." when they heard a strange noise.

"It was like something cracked," witness Jorge Robelo told the Daily Camera. "And then we see sparks, and 3 seconds later, we see flames all over the place. We panicked, because there were a lot of flames, honestly."

Rojas was borrowing the board from a friend. He said it was plugged in for only five minutes before it caught fire.

The fire ruined the carpet, but Rojas' friends were able to get a fire extinguisher and put the fire out.

"It's marketed as a toy. There has to be some route we can take to get some kind of reimbursement," Rojas said. "The apartment is screwed. His hoverboard is screwed obviously."

Boulder Fire Rescue spokesperson Shannon Cordingly said they heard about the fire at 7:50 p.m. No one was hurt.

CU banned hoverboards from its dorms in January. However, Rojas says the fire happened at an apartment complex near the Coors Events Center, not at a dorm.

Boulder Fire Rescue is investigating the fire.