A 38-year-old Florida man was killed in his bedroom when his vape pen exploded and shot two pieces into his head. The explosion also burned 80 percent of his body and lit his house on fire.
According to the Washington Post, although this isn't the first time an e-cigarette has exploded, it's the first time the explosion has killed someone.
According to a report from the U.S. Fire Administration, which is part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, there were at least 195 incidents in which an electronic cigarette exploded or caught fire from 2009 through 2016, resulting in 133 injuries, 38 of which were severe. But there were no recorded deaths in the study's period.
The explosions usually occur suddenly, the report found, "and are accompanied by loud noise, a flash of light, smoke, flames, and often vigorous ejection of the battery and other parts."
More than half of the total incidents, 128, included fires started on nearby objects.
E-cigarette explosions are thought to be caused by lithium-ion batteries, according to the report. "No other consumer product places a battery with a known explosion hazard such as this in such close proximity to the human body," it said. "It is this intimate contact between the body and the battery that is most responsible for the severity of the injuries that have been seen. While the failure rate of the lithium-ion batteries is very small, the consequences of a failure, as we have seen, can be severe and life-altering for the consumer."
The lethal "mod" type vape pen was manufactured in the Philippines and distributed by Smok-E Mountain, according to Tampa Bay Times.
