A fire that displaced a Utah family on Christmas was officially determined to be caused by an exploding e-cigarette, according to Ogden fire Deputy Chief Eric Bauman.
The basement and first floor were completely engulfed in flames when firefighters first arrived on the scene. There were no injuries reported but the damage was estimated to be over $100,000.
The good news? At least some of the presents were able to be saved:
“It’s such an unfortunate thing on Christmas morning,” Bauman said. “I’m told the majority of damage from this one is smoke damage.”
Bauman said firefighters retrieved Christmas presents from the home.
“Our firefighters went in attacking the fire,” he said, “but understanding the nature of Christmas Day, they were also able to get all the presents out of the house.”
The official news confirms earlier reports from the Stanford Examiner that the fire was caused by an e-cigarette:
One of the adults in the home, Anthony Bell, told the Standard-Examiner he was using an e-cigarette in a back room of the house when it exploded in his face. Thinking he might have battery acid on his face, Bell said he went to wash out his eyes in the kitchen sink.
Within “20 seconds,” the other adult, Shanda Miller, noticed smoke coming from the back room, she said.
Miller said she entered the room and found the crib on fire, and that no one else was in the room at the time.
Of course, this story joins the long list of incidents in which people improperly handled their e-cigs, usually mechanical mods, resulting in explosions and fires.
