Florida Fire Officials Say Exploding Vape Pen May Have Killed Man in St. Petersburg

Officials in Florida believe that the death of a 38 - twelvemonth - previous valet de chambre in St. Petersburg on Saturday is linked to the plosion of a vape playpen , theMiami Herald reportedon Sunday .

Details are scarce , including what kind of pen was involved in the tragical incident . ButSpectrum News 9 reportedthat a St. Pete Fire Rescue unit responding to news report of a fire at the 300 pulley block of 19th Avenue North discovered Tallmadge D’Elia dead with “ multiple injuries to his boldness . ” A spokesman for the attack section assure the station that authorities ’ current belief is that a atomic number 3 battery in the playpen explode , inflame a small fervidness , though it is unclear pending the outcome of an autopsy whether D’Elia died now in the explosion or during the result blaze .

While the scientific discipline is still catch up on how dependable the vapor produced by the pen really is — it ’s probablymuch less harmfulthan smoke , though thelong term effectsare undecipherable — explosion from poorly manufactured , malfunctioning , or misused e - cigarettes can be alarmingly powerful . In 2016 , a French club owner go to the hospitalwith severe burnsafter his e - cig blew up in his pocket , and in January 2017 an Idaho manlost seven teethwhen his penitentiary detonated with enough forcefulness to shatter a privy sink .

Argentina’s President Javier Milei (left) and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., holding a chainsaw in a photo posted to Kennedy’s X account on May 27. 2025.

One end in northwest England was report to have been linked to an exploding vaporizer , though theScotsman reportedit may have “ ignite the O tube of an oxygen concentrator , which may have been in manipulation by the occupier . ”

TheUS Fire Administrationwarned in 2014 that “ the build and construction of einsteinium - fag can make them more potential than other products with lithium - ion battery to behave like ‘ flaming skyrocket ’ when a barrage fails . ” The Food and Drug Administrationrecommendsusers look at pens with safety features , not leaving pens charging overnight or using off - brand chargers , only using undamaged batteries of the type recommended by the maker , and never bequeath batteries loose in pockets with metal objects to lower the risk of an explosion .

say burst do n’t appear to be particularly common , though the Federal Emergency Management Agency identified 25 incidents over the year 2009 - 2014 from medium reports alone , grant to Wired .

William Duplessie