A family from Texas is speaking about their horrifying experience involving their toddler's light-up shoes. When they opened the door to their SUV last weekend, they were shocked to see a hole in the passenger seat. The car also smelled of burnt plastic.
Attila and Jovan Virag called the local fire marshal to look into the matter, but the expert didn't find anything that could potentially start the fire in the car. She did find clothing and shoes and saw that there was a toddler's light-up shoes from the items. One of the pairs was burned to the core.
"We came to the conclusion (along with the fire marshal) that it was my son's light-up shoes that started the fire," said Jovan Virag in a post on Reddit. "They were completely burnt and charred up with the wires from the lights sticking out."
Toddler's light-up shoes suspected in car fire in Texas.https://t.co/HcfSwBeVp9 pic.twitter.com/wb4UYObG7w
— FOX 12 Oregon KPTV (@fox12oregon) May 9, 2016
Toddler Light-Up Shoes Have Lithium Batteries
The Virag's toddler, Warren, owned a "Jake and the Never Land Pirates" light up sneakers they bought at Payless for $25. It lights up whenever the two-year-old kid makes a step. Jovan's wife ripped the shoes down to find that the lights are actually powered by lithium batteries. "I didn't know there's a battery in there that could be flammable if it's shorted," Jovan said, per KHOU.
The father is only glad that his son wasn't wearing the light up shoes when it caught fire. "I don't know if he could have told me his foot was getting hot, and I don't think he could have taken it off by himself," Jovan added.
Toddler Light-Up Shoes Warning To Other Parents
Now, the couple are speaking up to let other parents know that this can happen. "The batteries in these things don't put out enough juice to electrocute anyone but they may cause a spark," offered one commenter in the Reddit discussion Jovan started. "If the shoe itself is made out of something flammable, or is placed next to something flammable such as trash in the back of your car, they could start a fire."
The Reddit member also pointed out that the shoes might have a lot of wear and tear, thus, it was likely to cause failure. The Virags are planning to contact Payless to alert them of what happened.
