Man Found Dead After Vape Pen Apparently Explodes In His Face

NEWS 07/05/2018 06:52 SAST | Updated 07/05/2018 06:53 SAST   www.huffingtonpost.co.za/2018/05/07/man-found-dead-after-vape-pen-apparently-explodes-in-his-face_a_23428449   Florida authorities are investigating the death of a man whose body was found at home Saturday by firefighters after a vape pen appears to have exploded in his face. The cause of death has not yet been determined, but 38-year-old Tallmadge D’Elia suffered multiple injuries to his face, officials said. Firefighters were called by a neighbor to D’Elia’s home in St. Petersburg when the suspected explosion set off a small fire.
Vape pens “have a lithium battery and they start to generate heat,” St. Petersburg Fire & Rescue deputy fire marshal Lt. Steve Lawrence told Spectrum 9 TV. “In this case, we believe that exploded.”
Lawrence told WFTS-TV: “It’s like having a … firecracker in your hand. It can explode and at that point, it can project either the pieces of the lighter itself or the vape pen. They become pieces of flying debris and shrapnel.”