Pennsylvania Officials Say A Fire That Killed A Toddler Was Started By A Hoverboard

A Harrisburg, Pennsylvania toddler died Saturday morning after her family's home was ignited by a recharging hoverboard the night prior, officials said.

Ashanti Hughes, 2, died from complications from burns on over 95 percent of her body, according to the Lehigh County Coroner. Her death was ruled an accident.

"My granddaughter, we can't replace her," Mark Hughes, the girl's grandfather told ABC 10 News. "The pain... so deep." 

If investigators confirm that the blaze was indeed started by the hoverboard, Hughes' death will be the first U.S. fatality linked a hoverboard-related fire since the Consumer Products Safety Commission began investigating such fires in 2015, according to NBC News.

Two other girls who were trapped on the second and third floors of the home during the blaze remain in critical condition at a local burn center.

The blaze also led to the death of firefighter Lt. Dennis DeVoe, who was fatally injured in a car accident while en route to the fire, as ABC News reported.

At a press conference Saturday, officials blamed the fire on a hoverboard that was plugged into an electrical outlet and recharging on the first floor of the home around 8 p.m. on Friday. 

Other family members were present at the time, according to Harrisburg Fire Chief Brian Enterline.

"They heard some sizzling and crackling in the hoverboard and shortly thereafter, it exploded in flames," said Enterline.

He added that the popular devices are "notorious for starting fires."

As NBC pointed out, over half a million hoverboards were recalled last summer after the safety commission found that the battery packs of nearly a dozen Chinese-made models could overheat and explode.

The recalled hoverboards contained lithium-ion batteries, which were made with a flammable electrolyte, according to The Huffington Post.

"We've concluded pretty definitively that these are not safe products the way they were designed," safety commission Chairman Elliot Kaye said when the recall was announced in July 2016.