Warnings Over E-Cig Chargers After Spate of Fires

As e-cigarettes become more popular, West Yorkshire Fire Service are warning not to take a gamble with your life.

It says they may well be a popular item on Christmas wish lists, with an estimated 2.1 million people in Britain now using them.

But in recent months, firefighters here have been called out to eight blazes started by the batteries in them overheating.

Fire Investigation Officer Sean Fearon told us all of them could have been prevented simply by using the right equipment:

“If you choose to plug it into a laptop or a phone charger, that charger is not forced to be compatible with your battery and that can cause what we call thermal runaway. The battery would explode and possibly could start a larger fire.”

Whilst the number of blazes may seem relatively low, there have been numerous other instances where the fire service has not been notified at the time so they believe the true scale of the issue is larger.

The main problem is the rechargeable batteries exploding whilst on charge, due to people using incorrect chargers with the device.

Fires have also been caused by counterfeit products, which may seem like a cheap alternative but come at a hidden cost.

Many counterfeit batteries and chargers do not have any overcurrent protection which can lead to the battery overheating whilst on charge.

When a battery overheats it can explode, causing red hot material to fire into a room. This burning material can travel up to two or three metres and can cause a fire to develop if it lands on anything combustible.

“We’ve had the worst outcomes in other parts of the country,” says Sean.

“We’ve had fatalities, and obviously we don’t want that. Part of our role is to identify the cause of a fire so we can put steps in place to stop the fire happening in the first place.

• “I would like to stress to the vaping community that we are not attempting to ban e-cigarettes. Consumers have a right to expect that electrical products brought into the home are safe to use and do not create a potential fire hazard.*

“However it’s important to note the majority of fires we have seen have been caused by the use of inappropriate chargers. No legislation is going to prevent a fire being caused by a consumer using a charger that is not correctly rated to their battery type.”

One of the most recent fires WYFRS has attended was at a property in St Leonards Grove, Girlington, where a battery had been on charge for 15 to 20 minutes in a bedroom before it exploded.