Electronic Cigarettes and Explosions: USFA Report for Emergency Services Sector (ESS)

From 2009 to 2014, the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) reported 25 incidents of explosion and fire involving electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) and while that isn’t really a very large number, the growing popularity of e-cigarettes coupled with the dramatic explosions seen make this an issue fire personnel and investigators should be aware of.

E-cigarettes contain a heating element powered by a battery.  Many have a USB port for ease in recharging.  USFA reports that 80 percent of the reported explosions and fires happened during battery recharging.  The events happened suddenly and in many cases the battery and/or other components were ejected from the device under pressure and “flew across the room” as a projectile.

One suggested possibility for this is improper charging.  There are different types of USB ports with different voltage and current; using a different USB port than recommended by the manufacturer may be unsafe.  The USFA report (PDF, 899 Kb - https://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/electronic_cigarettes.pdf ) contains many more details found during this research.

(Source: USFA - https://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/electronic_cigarettes.pdf )

https://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/electronic_cigarettes.pdf