Amazon Pulls Hoverboards From Site On Safety Concerns After Fire Reports

Little Johnny and Janie might find themselves a little disappointed come Christmas morning when the hoverboards they asked for fail to appear beneath the tree. Retail giant Amazon has begun removing certain brands of the massively popular gizmo from its site after more and more reports have surfaced of the "self-balancing scooters" catching fire.

Overstock.com had previously pulled the scooters from its site, and nine airlines have banned hoverboards from their flights because of the possibility they will burst into flames in a skybound pressurized metal tube. In cities like New York, they're technically (and understandably) illegal to use in public, and can get you fined $200.

Videos of hoverboard "fails" are good for a laugh, and attributable to user error, but fires are quite another matter. Recommendation site Best Reviews posted the following message on its "5 Best Hoverboards" article:

Most notable of the brands pulled by Amazon are Swagway, PhunkeeDuck and IO Hawk. Swagway sent a statement to the Verge that its products fully comply with all safety standards.

You can still buy those brands of hoverboard on the companies' own sites, or, if you don't want to leave your Amazon tab, go with a scooter from a company like Hover X or Jetson.

Or save yourself half a grand (at least) and a house fire and tell the kids it's Santa's fault.