Boston University enacted a temporary ban on hoverboards Monday due to rising concern related to the fire hazard posed by hoverboard batteries, according to an email sent Wednesday morning to the BU community. Hoverboards will not be allowed on campus until further notice.
“We know hoverboards were a popular holiday gift and this may disappoint or inconvenience some of you; we apologize for the disruption,” representatives from the Office of the Provost wrote in the email. “However … the consequence of a fire are very serious, especially in densely populated buildings like residence halls and classroom buildings.”
A Dec. 16 statement by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission led to the decision of the temporary ban, according to the email.
In the statement, CPSC Chairman Elliot Kaye wrote that the commission is “actively investigating hoverboard-related fires across the country,” and the experts are “looking particularly closely at the configuration of the battery packs and compatibility with the chargers.”
The university, alerted by the CPSC statement and incidents of hoverboard-related fires, decided to put the safety of its community at first, said BU spokesman Colin Riley.
“There are a lot of products that even if you use properly, it will lead to injuries. But that is not why we are doing this,” Riley said. “This is primarily the fact that there have been a number of incidents in which fire has happened. Family homes have been destroyed. The potential probably of that happening on a university campus is really concerning.”
According to the email, BU plans to lift the ban on hoverboards after the CPSC finishes its investigation of the potential fire issues.
“Once they assert that the risk of spontaneous fire no longer exists with hoverboards, then we will be happy to lift the ban,” said University Provost Jean Morrison.
Meanwhile, Riley said the university hopes students with hoverboards will leave them home or contact the Environmental Health and Safety Office for secure storage.
“What we will do is we will take hoverboards [to] a location that is safe,” Riley said. “Students can gather them when they are returning home. It is pretty straightforward that the hoverboards cannot be in university buildings or residences on campus.”
BU is now one of at least five universities in the Boston area that has prohibited or restricted hoverboards on campus. The list includes a growing number, including Emerson College, Boston College, Suffolk University, Brandeis University and the University of Massachusetts Amherst, according to The Boston Globe.
BU students said while hoverboards are an impressive innovation and a cool gift, they appreciate the university’s decision to put safety first.
Guocheng Xia, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences, said he agrees with the university’s decision.
“I used to live in 575 [Commonwealth Ave.],” Xia said. “Just imagine what [would] happen if someone’s hoverboard caused a fire in the middle of the night.”
Zi Ye, a junior in the College of Communication, said she does not support using hoverboards as a form of daily transportation to go to school, and students should leave them at home.
“If we have students driving hoverboards on the street, it will be extremely dangerous for people who drive,” Ye said. “Also, you can’t really control a hoverboard while you are on it. It’s super dangerous because people might fall.”
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