RMG News via Cal FireA woman from California has become the most recent person to be injured by a vape pen, which burnt 20% of her body after exploding in her backpack.
The alternative smoking device exploded while she was wearing the backpack causing her clothes to set of fire.
She was shopping at the time of the incident, which took place on Tuesday, December 31, and the manager of the store had to use a fire extinguisher on the woman. Despite the manger coming to her aid, she still suffered first and second degree burns on her back.
RMG News via Cal FireCalFire responded to the incident as well, after receiving several calls about a woman being on fire.
In the pictures, you can see the woman’s clothes blackened and charred from the explosion, as well as a graphic photo showing her burns.
Calfire Battalion Chief, Josh Janssen, told local news outlet KTLA:
We receivers several reports of a woman on fire in a local Rite Aid. While responding to the incident, we received updated information that the fire was caused by a vape pen that had exploded inside the female’s backpack.
Upon arriving at the incident, we found the patient’s upper clothing to be significantly burned and the female had approximately 20% burn surface area, first and second degree burns.
She was treated on scene and located to a local burns centre.
RMG News via Cal FireIt is unclear what made the vape pen explode and what condition the woman is in following the incident from two days ago.
In November 2019, reports came to light about teenager Ewan Fisher almost dying after suffering serious respiratory failure doctors linked to vaping.
He had only recently turned 19 at time, had taken up vaping in a bid to quit smoking but ended up in intensive care: he had to be connected to an artificial lung to keep him alive after his own lungs failed and he couldn’t breathe on his own.
Family Handout/PA ImagesEwan said he had only been vaping for ‘about four or five months’ before he became ill, and said he vaped ‘a normal amount – maybe 10 to 15 times a day.
The then teenager first started noticing something was wrong in May 2017 after he developed a ‘choking cough’ and quickly found he was struggling to breathe, at which point he was taken to hospital. Doctors diagnosed Ewan with hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP), a disease of the lungs in which they become inflamed as a result of an allergic reaction to something you have inhaled.
He went on to say that vaping ‘isn’t worth the risk’.
If you have a story you want to tell send it to UNILAD via [email protected]
Niamh Shackleton is a pint sized person and journalist at UNILAD. After studying Multimedia Journalism at the University of Salford, she did a year at Caters News Agency as a features writer in Birmingham before deciding that Manchester is (arguably) one of the best places in the world, and therefore moved back up north. She’s also UNILAD’s unofficial crazy animal lady.