A toy dump truck was removed from a store's shelves Sunday after one of them burst into flames, still in the box, in the bed of a real truck.
Roxsane and her husband, Delmond Harden, were on their way home from Toys 'R Us where they had just bought a 12-volt Tonka Mighty Wheels dump truck for their grandson.
Incredulous, they realized it was on fire.
"Sparks and smoke coming from inside of the box, like fire," Roxsane said. "It was hot."
That fire erupted in the bed of their Ford Ranger on I-5 in Smokey Point, Washington, Friday night.
"I said, 'We got to pull over,'" Roxsane said. "'We got to get out of this truck.' So we pulled over, flames start shooting."
The flames were so intense that the fire extinguishers the Washington state trooper used couldn't douse them.
"The officer, when he looked on, he said, 'The flames appeared to be 15, 20 feet high,'" Delmond said. "Yeah, it was pretty shocking."
"So they told me to get whatever I needed out of the car, like my purse," Roxsane said. "So I'm in the back grabbing my purse and stuff and as I'm leaning over, I hear pop. And all this glass shattered in front of me. And then there was smoke and dust inside."
They had to call the fire department to put the fire out. Their burned truck is all that is left.
Based on this, Toys 'R Us said it won't sell the toy truck to anyone else while it investigates.
The fire appeared to be an isolated incident, Nicole Hayes, a Toys 'R Us spokeswoman, told NBC News.
"We made a proactive decision to pull the item out of an abundance of caution and an investigation into the incident is currently taking place," she said. "In the meantime, we are working closely with Dynacraft, the manufacturer, to determine the cause."
The Hardens got a refund and an apology from the toy store.
"That is the way to go," said Delmond. "Good for Toys 'R Us. That is perfect, because the biggest shopping day of the year is coming up."
Now that the Hardens are out of the pickup truck they rely on, they plan to contact the company that made the toy to see if it can provide any help.
Cox Media Group
