Earlier this week a 62 year old man from Wirral in the UK was found dead in his home. Reports point to a fire that was caused when he was powering up his device using the wrong charger which caused an explosion that lead to a fire.
This isn’t the first fire in this area. At least eight other fires linked to E-Cigarettes have been reported on the Merseyside of Wallasey in the UK.
Consumers Be Aware When Using E-Cigarette Chargers
Besides using incorrect chargers or leaving a device plugged in for too long, there are additional safety concerns that can lead to fires.
Many e-cigarette suppliers provide chargers that have a cord with a USB plug and an AC adapter. This makes it tempting for an E-cig user to try and charge from car adapters, laptops, computers, and video game consoles. This should never be done due. Accidents like the one in Wirral are an example of what can happen when adapters get mixed up or when they are plugged into the wrong type of device.
In the US there have also been reported fires and other types of health risks. One explosion happened in Oklahoma City when a user left their device unchecked while plugged in under their desk.
Phoenix Fire Dept Report
Phoenix Fire Department officials say they’ve noticed the increase and want families to know about the potential danger when charging devices.
The Fire Dept in Phoenix reported on a fire that caused over $100,000 in damage and luckily no lives were lost. Note the pictures in this article are taken from that report.
You can watch a video of the news report at ABC News.
Safety educators say e-cigarette users should not leave their devices unattended. A word of caution, never leave your device unattended and unplug once charged. Also, it would be very wise to make sure your smoke detector batteries are in working order and take out a good renter’s insurance plan.
Hopefully E-Cigarette makers will improve the way devices are charged before one more life is put in danger or more property is destroyed.
wow this is tragic.. thank you for sharing!