Electronic Cigarette Fires and Explosions
Key Points
•
More than 2.5 million Americans are using
electronic cigarettes (e-cigs or e-cigarettes), and this number is growing
rapidly.
•
Fires or explosions caused by e-cigarettes are
rare.
• Twenty-five separate incidents of explosion and fire involving an
e-cigarette were reported in the United States media be-tween 2009 and August
2014.
•
Nine injuries and no deaths were associated with
these 25 incidents. Two of the injuries were serious burns.
•
Most of the incidents occurred while the battery
was charging.
•
The shape and construction of e-cigarettes can
make them more likely than other products with lithium-ion batteries to be-have
like “flaming rockets” when a battery fails.
•
Lithium-ion batteries must be charged in
accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.
•
Using power sources not approved by the
manufacturer to recharge a lithium-ion battery can result in an explosion and
fire.
