LIBERTY COUNTY, Texas – A fast moving fire destroyed one Liberty County family’s home, leaving a father seriously burned. The family blames a child’s toy, that they were charging, in violation of the toy’s instructions.
Dawnyale Littlejohn tells us, “It was on my front porch at first and I start screaming, obviously, I mean, so my husband came running from the bedroom and he opened the front door, you know. And I just watched the flames just rush into the house and him disappear in a ball of flames.”
Video shows her husband Eric running from the house, his skin burning and his clothes melting off of him. He suffered second-degree burns over 30 percent of his body.
“I screamed in so much pain. I never experienced no pain like that in my life. And I was like, man, I was screaming man,” Eric told KPRC 2 Investigates Bill Spencer.
Despite the ferocity of the fire, Dawnyale was able to get their two boys out safely.
“It was our home, our memories, you know, and just watching it all go,” she says. “Seven minutes, it took seven minutes to lose my entire life.”
Seven minutes the Littlejohn’s believe were actually set in motion last year, when they bought this toy car for their two little boys to enjoy.
When the fire broke out, they say the Fisher Price Power Wheels Jeep is what they saw burning first.
“And I looked up and I seen the Jeep on fire. So I started screaming,”
That toy car had been charging on the front porch, but the family was using a third-party battery charger, manufactured by a totally different company, and it was the first time they say they’d used that charger.
Mattel, which owns Fisher Price, warns customers against doing just that.
The owner’s manual for power wheels cars clearly states, “use only a power wheels battery and charger. Other batteries or chargers could cause a fire or explosion.”
The official Liberty County sheriff’s report classifies this fire as an accident, with the cause likely being a failure in the battery/charging system of the toy.
The Littlejohn’s say they have been interviewed by the Consumer Product Safety Commission about this fire.
Eric tells us he is now waiting to have skin graft surgery for his burns and the entire family is now living in a rental home where nothing actually belongs to them.
2 Investigates reached out to Mattel about this incident, but a company spokesperson says “Mattel does not comment on pending litigation.”
At this point, the family has not filed a lawsuit against anyone.
We’ve also made numerous attempts to reach the makers of that third-party battery charger, but have gotten no response from them either.
There have been other warnings issued about using third-party battery chargers for toys and other electronics that can overheat and pose a fire risk. None of those products however were involved in the Littlejohn fire.
Additional Information:
Generic Chargers Can Cause Serious Injury - Safe Electricity
Anker Power Banks Recalled Due to Fire and Burn Hazards - Consumer Reports