The Shadow
PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) – A faulty battery caused an electronic cigarette to explode in a Florida’s man’s mouth, taking out some of his front teeth and a chunk of his tongue and severely burning his face, fire officials said Wednesday.
Tom Holloway, 57, of Niceville, was trying to quit smoking so he was puffing on the device Monday night when it blew up, fire officials said. Officials have not publicly identified the victim. But a Facebook page under his name was filled with well-wishers commenting on the injury and database searches matched his address with his name.
“The best analogy is like it was trying to hold a bottle rocket in your mouth when it went off,” said Joseph Parker, division chief for the North Bay Fire Department. “The battery flew out of the tube and set the closet on fire.”
Parker said fire investigators do not know the brand of cigarette, type of battery or age of the device. It appears the battery was rechargeable lithium because a recharging station and other batteries were in the room, he said.
Parker said he has forwarded information about the blaze to the fire marshal’s office to include in any databases on the devices.
