A man has experienced horrific injuries after his vape exploded while in his pocket. The incident left him injured but willing to share his story with others.
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The terrifying ordeal happened back in February, but 40-year-old Gavin Sutherland just now feels well enough to talk about it. Speaking with the BBC, he said that he heard a hissing sound in his pocket. That's when the lithium battery caught fire.
He said, "I heard a hiss and slight movement in my pocket. Then it went off like a firework - the blast searing into my thigh. I knew immediately it was something to do with the battery, but things happened so fast."
Sutherland felt the heat running up his leg and started to panic.
He explained, There was a blast and a lot of heat, smoke and noise. I was running around in a panic, swearing, but I didn't know whether to use water or an extinguisher on it. I ran to the door and the battery rolled to the ground, having burned through my pocket. I put some cold water on my thigh, but then the pain set in."
Vape Catches Fire
The injury was so bad that it melted the fabric from his pants to his thigh.
He said, "I thought I would just get some cream and a telling off, but it turned out to be a lot more serious than that. At Accident and Emergency, I sat down and basically collapsed - I was in extreme pain."
The medical team quickly gave him some pain killers. He suffered a permanent scar but not muscle damage.
He explained, "They had me on painkillers pretty quickly, but I could see the severity of the wound as they worked on it. The crew were really reassuring - so professional yet so personal."
Meanwhile, the US Food and Drink Administration have warned about batteries in vapes.
They wrote, "Charge your vape on a clean, flat surface, away from anything that can easily catch fire and someplace you can clearly see it - not a couch or pillow where it may more easily overheat or get turned on accidentally."
