Mom warns others after her kids’ ride-on toy truck bursts into flames

TOLLESON, Ariz. (KTVK/KPHO/Gray News) - An Arizona mother is warning other parents after her children’s ride-on toy truck burst into flames outside her home. Firefighters told her the toy’s rechargeable battery likely overheated.

Rosie Contreras said she is relieved her family escaped a fire at their home on June 20. The mother says a ride-on toy forklift she had gotten her 5-year-old twin boys, Emanuel and Xavier, for Christmas burst into flames outside the house, KPHO reports.

Fortunately, the boys, who are deaf, blind and nonverbal, weren’t playing with the truck at the time.

“They mean the world to me, and I just couldn’t picture my life without them,” Contreras said.

The toy truck had been left outside for the past few weeks. When it caught fire, Contreras says flames started covering her home’s window from the outside. She says the twins were playing in the house near the window and started banging on it. That’s when she saw the flames.

“It’s scary. I never thought that could happen,” Contreras said.

The mother took Emanuel, Xavier and their sister outside before calling 911. She says the window shattered about three to four minutes later.

“I’m just thankful it happened the way it happened because the way that the window shattered, I just think what if my boys were still there and it shattered right in their face?” Contreras said.

Fire crews snuffed out the flames quickly. Contreras says she was told the rechargeable battery in the toy truck likely overheated and caught fire. She knows the battery-powered toy vehicles are popular and urges other parents to store them in a cool place after their kids play with them.

“I don’t want the same thing to happen to other families or anybody,” Contreras said.

Firefighters shut off the power to the family’s home per protocol because they were concerned the electrical wiring was damaged, Contreras says. With no air conditioning in the home and temperatures high, the family has been staying in a hotel for nearly two weeks.

Contreras started a GoFundMe to help the family cover extra costs while they wait for insurance to kick in.

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