Fire and Rescue NSW sent out a warning today to all homeowners and parents of children who own lithium-ion battery-operated toys after a 12-year-old girl suffered a serious case of smoke inhalation during a Lithium-ion battery fire at Yamba.

The child was woken around midnight by the crackling sound of her electric skateboard on fire as it charged in her bedroom within her family's Cameron Street home.

The girl and four members of her family safely made it out of the home as Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crews from Yamba, Maclean and Grafton arrived at the scene.

She was taken to hospital for further treatment.

Whilst extinguishing the fire, FRNSW crews discovered the home's smoke alarm was inoperative and missing a battery.

FRNSW urges the public to ensure their home's smoke alarms are maintained and in working order.

The electric skateboard was purchased as a Christmas gift last year.

Firefighters are warning Christmas shoppers to use caution this year when purchasing Lithium-ion-powered devices including micro-mobility vehicles, such as e-bikes, e-scooters and e-skateboards.

• Don’t over-charge Lithium-ion batteries or allow them to over-heat
• Always use compliant and approved charging stations/equipment
• Avoid dropping, crushing, piercing or vibrating the power cells
• Carefully and lawfully dispose of any battery that short-circuits, malfunctions and/or suffers a system fault/s 
• Be aware of defects or contamination introduced during manufacture.

Read more about this incident and others here