Exploding e-cigarette killed Florida man, coroner says

MIAMI: An exploding e-cigarette killed a Florida man found dead in his burning apartment, an autopsy has found.

In what is believed to be the first death from a vaping pen explosion in the United States, 38year-old Tallmadge D’Elia died when two pieces of the e-cigarette lodged themselves in his cranium, the Pinellas County medical examiner said.

D’Elia was discovered when firefighters broke into the burning apartment in St Petersburg, Florida, on May 5.

The fire was found to have been caused by the exploding device, and resulted in 80 per cent burns to his body.

The lethal vaping device was identified as a Smok-E Mountain brand, which is manufactured in the Philippines, according to the local Tampa Bay Times newspaper.

It said the device was known as a ‘mechanical mod’ e-cigarette, which lacks some of the safety features that other makes have, including computer chips to prevent them from overheating.

“A regulated device typically contains electronic circuitry, built-in safety features, and adjustable power settings,” Gregory Conley, president of the American Vaping Association, told AFP.

“In contrast, a mechanical mod is unregulated and works simply by drawing the power of a battery to an atomizer,” he said.

“If the battery in a mechanical mod over-discharges and the device doesn’t contain enough air holes to allow the battery to vent, there is a risk of explosion.”

The coroner’s report did not specify what made the vape pen explode.

The Smok-E Mountain brand’s Facebook page had been taken down on Thursday.

According to Fema, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, there were 195 fires and explosions involving electronic cigarettes between 2009 and 2016 in the United States.