Man suffers third-degree burns when vape pen explodes in shorts

NORTH PORT, Fla. — A Florida man was burned badly when his vape pen exploded in his pocket, FOX13 Tampa reported.

“There was smoke in the office. He had opened the door. He was in shock," Brant Julius, the man's co-worker, said. "You could see the chemical burns are a little different, and seeing it fresh like that, literally I could smell the difference between flesh burning.”

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The man was airlifted to Blake Medical Center in Manatee County with second- and third-degree burns.

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It is unclear why the device exploded.

North Port Fire Chief Scott Titus said: "We tend to let our guard down or not think of it as a device that could be dangerous."

Titus also advised, "Keep it covered while in the pocket, using the appropriate charging device, not using a device or something else, to make sure it’s regulated."

The owner of Euro-Wall plans to re-draft the company policy on vape pens to prevent incidents like this in the future.

The state fire marshal is investigating how the pen exploded.

"He's very lucky," Julius said. "He could have lost his hand. He could have had it up by his face.

"You’ve seen reports like that and it would have been devastating for him and his family.”