‘Ball of fire': Video shows electric wheelchair exploding in Hollywood driveway

Video shows the moment an electric powered wheelchair exploded in the driveway of a Hollywood home minutes after the homeowner said the wheelchair was inside her house.

Alexandra Anaya said she had seconds to get as far away as she could.

“Eight seconds later it exploded into a ball of fire,” Anaya said. “I couldn’t believe it, I really couldn’t believe it exploded in that manner and with that amount of force, I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Anaya said she woke up Sunday morning and heard a clicking noise coming from the Zinger power wheelchair she recently bought from a thrift store for a family member. She said the chair, which was equipped with a lithium battery, was charging in her hallway, and she was charging the chair with a non-manufacturer charger.

“It was the clicking, that’s what separated me from going back to bed and investigating,” Anaya said.

Anaya said she put her hand on the battery and it was hot, so she went to Google to see what the problem could be.

“It said ‘imminent danger, put it on cement or somewhere where other things won’t catch on fire,'” Anaya said.

Anaya brought the wheelchair to her driveway and stared at it for a couple seconds.

“I heard it hiss first before it exploded and that’s why I turned to run,” Anaya said.

Anaya said pieces of the wheelchair hit her in the back as she ran inside, where her sister was.

“Today, and have been, just being grateful out loud, talking to the big man, just thanking Him, I still have a house, I’m not homeless and I got my sister and we’re not hurt,” Anaya said. “If it would have gone out firefighters said flames were high enough it would have got the roof.”

Anaya hopes by sharing her story and sharing the surveillance video from her home, she can prevent this from happening to someone else.

“Don’t leave this stuff charging while you’re not home,” Anaya said.

Hollywood Fire Rescue wants you to know some lithium battery safety tips, which include:

1. Stop using a device if you hear clicking, popping, or hissing, or see swelling.
2. Move it to a non combustible area if safe.
3. Use the correct charger: cheap or incompatible chargers can be dangerous.
4. Check the battery for excess heat while charging.
5. Never leave batteries charging unattended.
6. Call 911 if you see smoke or signs of thermal runaway.

NBC6 reached out to Zinger and was waiting to hear back.