Pet dog Suey killed after e-cigarette explosion

A COUPLE had a lucky escape from a house fire – but lost their pet dog – after an e-cigarette exploded.

John Walters and Carole Poulson escaped the blaze at their Birches Head home by climbing through a bedroom window.
But the couple’s whippet Suey was killed after being overcome by toxic fumes in the kitchen, despite John’s efforts to rescue her.

Carole and John spent the night in hospital being treated for smoke inhalation, following the blaze at 12.30am yesterday.

They are now warning people of the potential dangers of e-cigarettes.
As well as taking the life of their beloved pet, the fire left their home in Moston Street completely gutted.

John, aged 58, said: “We were both in bed when we were woken up by the sound of banging downstairs. Carole thought it might be a burglar so I opened the door and was immediately hit by the heat and smoke. It knocked me across the room.

“We opened the windows and climbed out onto the top of the downstairs bay windows and started calling for help. We were still quite high up, but luckily one of our neighbours is a part-time firefighter, and he brought a ladder to help us down. People tried to stop me but I went to the porch and tried to go back in, as I knew she was still inside. She was actually still alive when the firefighters brought her out, but they couldn’t save her.

“It was heartbreaking – Carole has had her since Suey was one or two, and she’s been a part of the family.”

The e-cigarette had been left attached to a mains charging plug overnight.
Investigations discovered that there was no cable containing a fuse to link the two components and which would have cut off the electrical current when the battery overheated.

There were no smoke alarms fitted in the house.
John added: “I don’t think they are safe. It had only been charging for a couple of hours. I’ve spoken to other people who have had this happen to them.

“This could have been much worse. If we’d been in the back bedroom, where we usually sleep, we wouldn’t have been able to get out as the windows only open a few inches.”

Group manager Brian Griffiths, from Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “This incident is a stark warning to people never to leave e-cigarettes on charge for long periods over time, particularly overnight, and to always follow the manufacturers’ guidelines. It also highlights the importance of having working smoke alarms in your home. We have had a number of incidents when people’s lives have been saved because their smoke alarms activated.”

Read more: Pet dog Suey killed after e-cigarette explosion in Birches Head home | Stoke Sentinel
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I think it's more to do with not knowing or being told.
Being new to vaping there are probably a lot that people don't know.
We're ok as we're addicted to Forums and have been doing this for a long time, a newbie however won't know the dangers of all of this.

For me if someone is buying from a brick and mortar shop, or from an online vendor (apart from a Chinese vendor) then THEY should be telling them as much as possible about simple things like this.

The FIRST thing they should tell them, and include a big leaflet with the devices like this is NEVER charge and leave it charging overnight or if you leave the house.
Also it might be too much, but those Safety charging bags, have them as part of these eGo kits, tell them it's just for safety and best to use them when charging.

 

Effing idiot. Sorry, but the homeowners blaming e-cigs for their woes should look a bit closer to home. WTF are they thinking?

 

http://www.fasttech.com/products/0/...m-230mm-fireproof-safety-guard-protective-bag

 

If the battery was left charging on a flammable surface and exploded, the resulting fire could do the kind of damage that's being shown...pity about the dog, though, he deserved better.

According to one of the discussion threads on FastTech under the LiPo Safety Charging bag, it's not intended for use with Nitecore or XTAR type chargers due to the potential for heat buildup during charging. And I have my doubts whether the FT bag (made of PVC fibers...maybe that's code for Nomex, which is the fireproof fabric) would be much help. I did some research on these bags awhile back and found that the more highly recommended ones on Amazon come from these sellers:
LipoSack.com
Venom RC | Venom Racing | Atomik RC
Dynamite RC.

They're used by the radio control guys when they're charging their LiPo battery packs outside the charger. From what I read, those type of batteries are pretty volatile and they're charged quickly with hi-powered hobby chargers, hence the need for these sacks in case something goes wrong.