Out of St. Petersburg, Florida a man has reportedly died from an exploding vape pen. The man was 38 year old Tallmadge D'Elia. The local medical examiner confirmed what firefighters suspected as the cause of death, which was due to burning. The examiner reported that 80% of the man's body was burned based off of the injuries to D'Elia's face. It looks like the pen exploded while the man was taking a hit of it, smoking, resulting in his death.
This bizarre and shocking incident of the exploding e-cigarette/pen is very rare but apparently has happened. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has studied cases of it so it's happened often enough for them to study it. The CDCP actually put out a fact sheet highlighting safety recommendations for when dealing with vape pens/e-cigs. Here is some of their facts:
- Never carry e-cig batteries loose in your pocket, especially where they might come into contact with coins, keys or other metal objects which can cause the battery to short out.
- Never use you phone or tablet charger. Use the charger that originally came with the device.
- Don’t charge your vape device while sleeping or leave it unattended.
- Charge it on a flat surface away from anything that can catch fire. Don’t charge it on your couch or bed.
- Always replace the batteries if they get damaged or wet.
- Always use batteries recommended for your device and don’t mix and match different brands or mix old and new batteries.
- Never alter your device or disable the safety features like fire button locks or vent holes.
- Protect your vape from extreme temperatures by not leaving it in direct sunlight or in a freezing car overnight.
Next time you go to grab that e-cig or vape pen, you might want to think twice. As with a lot of things, use caution.
-Producer Lightning