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Mom saves 2 kids moments before toy Jeep bursts into flames

A battery-powered toy jeep burst into flames just moments after kids had been playing with it, says a mom in North Andover, Massachusetts.

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. — A battery-powered toy jeep burst into flames just moments after kids had been playing with it, a Massachusetts mom says.

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Michelle Kline said she bought the SportRax Awesome XL for her 3-year-old, Quincy, and his little sister, Nellie, but never expected it to pose such a danger to her family.

"Part of the reason we bought the jeep that we bought was because the weight was ... I think it was 105 pounds the company told us it was rated for," she said. "It was four-wheel drive."

Kline said her two children were driving up the neighbor's lawn when smoke began to pour out from under the hood. That's when she pulled them out of the toy car without thinking twice.

"They were buckled in, and they are both little, so neither of them could have gotten themselves out," Kline said.

As soon as the kids were safe, the jeep went up in flames, burning for several more minutes.

"It was alarming how quickly it went up. It went from a little bit of smoke to a full-on fire within, like, two minutes; that was the scary thing," Kline said.

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North Andover Fire Chief Bill McCarthy said the fire appeared to be related to the toy's battery, but figuring out the exact cause of the fire may be nearly impossible.

"The mother did a good job of noticing something was wrong," McCarthy said. "We notified the Consumer Product Safety Commission as well as the Fire Marshal’s Office just to see if they’ve had something similar."

As for the kids, Kline said they don't seem to be bothered about losing their toy, but she said she has no plans to replace it.

"That’s sort of the bigger thing: You don't want this to happen to someone else," Kline said.