A Nottinghamshire man suffered leg burns after a pair of e-cigarette batteries exploded in his trouser pocket.
Lewis Cannon, 18, was in the queue at McDonalds in Newark when he noticed an orange glow and felt heat against his thigh.
The batteries then exploded, sending flames shooting out of his trousers.
He escaped more serious injury because they dropped out of his pocket through a hole caused by the blast.
Firefighters think the explosion on Tuesday morning was caused by a freak accident involving loose change connecting the two batteries, causing an electrical circuit which ignited.
However, they warned e-cigarette buyers to check products match British safety standards – approved batteries have cut-off mechanisms designed to prevent overheating.
Lewis, who is from Mansfield, was waiting to buy a breakfast bagel when the incident unfolded.
He said: “I was stood there and there was a bang and flames flew out of my trouser pocket then I patted myself down.
“They were still smoking when they dropped out onto the floor.”
A few moments earlier, they would’ve set fire to the van
“I’ve got a big nasty burn on my leg, and I’ve got to go to hospital to get it checked out.”
Picture: The batteries burnt a hole in Mr Cannon’s trousers
“I usually carry four batteries, so as soon as I got back in my van I chucked the other batteries out the window – if it had been a few moments earlier, they could have set fire to the van.
“I felt myself lucky that I was wearing my work trousers, if it would have been my jeans it would have been a different story.”
An passer-by dialled 999 but the flames had been quickly put out by Lewis by the time the fire crew arrived.
John Kitchener, station manager at Newark Fire Station, said: “He suddenly experienced a great deal of heat in his pocket and noticed flames of 10 to 12 inches shooting out.
“What seems to have happened is that the batteries had the positive and negative terminals attached to some loose change, which caused a circuit and ignited.”
Trading Standards Nottinghamshire say they have received complaints from customers who have bought chargers that don’t match the batteries inside the device.
They also warn say cheap batteries aren’t equipped with the safety cut-offs which kick in when a battery overheats.
Notts Fire and Resuce Service tips for buying e-cigarettes:
- Check the output voltage on the e-cigarette matches the battery
- Look for the manufacturer’s brand logo, model and batch number
- A safe product should have the ‘CE’ mark – but sometimes this can be fake
- The name and address of the manufacturer should be on the product, and must be an EU address
- Read all instructions on how to use the product safely
The Electrical Safety Council has produced a safe buyers’ guide which can be downloaded here.
