Man Explodes at Grand Central Station

Man Explodes at Grand Central Station. From Planet of the Vapes newsletter

Posted 19th December 2016 by Mawsley

Man Explodes at Grand Central Station | Planet of the Vapes

Last Thursday, while chatting with fellow workers at a wine shop in Grand Central station, everything went wrong for Otis Gooding. The 31-yr old was passing the time of day by the cash till when, all of a sudden, something in his pocket went haywire.

Sparks and flames began to shoot out of his trousers and was caught on the in-store security camera. “It was the scariest thing that ever happened in my life,” Gooding commented while lying in his hospital bed, “I am glad that I'm alive. I seen the sparks and was trying to get it out of my pocket, then I heard an explosion, it was like firecrackers, a couple of booms.”

The vaper was whisked away to a burns unit, at the New York Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center, where he spent three hours in surgery as clinicians grafted skin from his hip to treat the injured areas.

Sanford Rubenstein, Gooding’s lawyer, spoke to Al Jones from CBS New York: “There is a danger and the FDA really has to seriously consider banning the sale of these e-cigarettes, until the manufacturers determine what’s causing these explosions.” Rubenstein went on to point out that he’d be making reference to the FDA’s documented 92 other cases of exploding batteries as he pushed for a financial settlement for his client.

Josh, his brother, is reported as saying: “He’s going through a lot of pain up there and I’ve never seen such a thing.”

The pain resulted from his attempts to remove the Wismec Reuleaux RX200 from his pocket. Gooding said: “I was trying to get it out but it was too hot to handle so I dropped it on the ground. I knew I was hurt, but I didn't know how badly, and I know I'm going to have scars – the pain is terrible.”

The police who attended the scene instructed Gooding to apply cold water immediately to the affected areas. The fire brigade that appraised the situation believe the accident happen because the lithium-ion cell vented.

Vapers who are familiar with the device will appreciate that the chance of this happening while a cell is in the mod is exceptionally rare. Many might suspect Gooding was also carrying spare cells loose in his pocket, they could well be right. This was discussed on the POTV forum here - *Sigh* Another pocket explosion.

Forum stalwart, mannikon, found a good photo of the contents of the man's pocket, shown below, and summed it up as "Found a larger image of the aftermath and it looks like there were three brown cells in the RX and three unwrapped cells and lots of coins. Stupid."

The device came from a local store called Vape Easy in Manhattan, and the owners are keen to stress safety. “We're very intense about battery safety,” the owner is quoted as saying – and the shop has signs up telling customers not to place batteries in their pockets.

Meanwhile, Gooding told New York Daily News that he is unsure if he’ll ever be able to work again. Obviously this is nothing to do with his legal claim and his fears about being able to walk normally again are fully justified. To us though it looks like a clear case of negligence, never ever carry batteries loose in your pocket or bag, if you do the results can be life-changing.

NW note: Photo would not copy across but can be see at the web address noted above

 

I hope his lawyer has been paid up front. "E-cigarettes" shouldn't even be mentioned in the article.

 

sad for the man......
looking at the picture, I don't understand if it comes from:
- unprotected accu with coins in the same pocket
- dysfunction of the box (look like a 3*18650 box not more)
- both
there was a similar accident in France in october, after inquiry: keys and unprotected accu or box in the same pocket,
No smoke without fire: e-cigarette explodes in man’s pocket – video | Society | The Guardian

 

fellow french vaper spotted

 

some custom mod can also look a bit dangerous

 

It's the US, so he will probably get millions in compo from importer/retailers insurance. The fact that he is a complete dickhead won't matter. We used to laugh in England at the absurdity, until it happened there as well. Give me LoS any time.
At least he didn't have to carry it stealthily down the front of his underpants.

 

I counted 5 batteries in the picture and still looking for 1 more battery. The Wismec Reuleaux RX200 needs 3 batteries to run and if he had an extra "pack" in his pocket, there should be 6 batteries on th e picture. As we know that batteries in a mod like this should be paired , I wonder what he normally did when the capacity gets low ? only exchange 2 of the 3 batteries? that would be a fatal error. Besides that is is stupid to have loose batteries in a pocket, placing coins in the same pocked is more than just stupidity. I understand the lawyer, because he has to say , what he said, in order to help his client, but of course he can't be trusted, since he can't uncover the stupidity of the user. Just a shame that ignorance causes these accidents again and again.

 

I count 5x18650 on the picture as you? He should have 3 in the mod and the other 3 protected at least with paper, condoms or what ever.
I fear and feel sad also about the danger of ignorance on vaping, it's very bad for the one who got accident and bad for all of us wen media point the "danger"of the vape ( not so much accident in fact) .
(Looking at RTA ,rebuild coils, mods; my 20 years old nephew in france (who smock already a lot) tall me, that it was beautiful, cheaper than cigarettes, and clouds were so good;
my only advice was to look for the new powerful ego kit or equivalent and learn first with it.)

 

There's one still in the mod (which makes 6). Dude must vape some if he needs spare for what is essentially 9000mAh.

Another one, this time on the bus
Bus vaper's e-cigarette explodes - BBC News

 

Bus driver: "Hey, you can't vape on the bus man".
Vaper: "AAAHHGG!!!"

Som nam na.

 

Stupid man carrying loose batteries, change AND a mod with another 3 batteries in it. Recipe for disaster, would the guy have also been surprised if the exposed knife blade in his pocket stabbed him in the nuts? Should we ban all knives and pointy things then? Come on..