A Katy, Texas, couple says their toddler son's light-up shoe may have sparked a fire in their SUV.
>> UPDATE: Payless pulls light-up shoes that may have sparked SUV fire
According to KHOU, Attila and Jovan Virag opened their SUV on Saturday morning to find a hole in the floor and a melted passenger seat. The odor of burning plastic filled the air.
Baffled, they asked the local fire marshal's office to investigate.
"There just wasn't anything in there to start a fire – only clothes and shoes," Jovan told KHOU.
But then the Virags found lithium batteries inside their 2 1/2-year-old son's "Jake and the Never Land Pirates" light-up sneakers – one of which was burnt to a crisp.
Fire officials agreed that the shoe could have started the blaze, but they haven't determined an official cause.
The Virags said they bought the shoes at Payless for $25.
"I didn't know there's a battery in there that could be flammable if it's shorted," Attila told KHOU.
"I'm just glad that my son wasn't wearing it at the time," Jovan added. "I don't know if he could have told me his foot was getting hot, and I don't think he could have taken it off by himself."
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