An Idaho man lost nine of his teeth and suffered second-degree burns to his face and neck Saturday when the e-cigarette he was puffing on exploded in his mouth.
Andrew Hall, 30, of Pocatello, ended up in the intensive care unit of a local hospital after the incident, which occurred as he was getting ready for work, according to the East Idaho News.
Video shot by Hall’s mother, as well as photos Hall posted on Sunday to his own Facebook page, show the damage to Hall’s teeth and face, as well as damage to the bathroom where he said the explosion took place.
Click here to see the photos on Hall’s Facebook page. NOTE: The photos are graphic in nature and may not be suitable for everyone.
"My God, he's lucky he wasn't killed," Angalee Hall can be heard saying in the video, which recorded the blood-spattered bathroom sink, floor and toilet. Chunks of the counter were torn away and littered the floor.
Two of Andrew Hall’s teeth were lost in the blast and seven others had to be removed during surgery to repair the damage to his mouth.
Hall wrote on Facebook that aside from the lost teeth and the burns, he had been "pulling chunks of plastic, teeth and foreign objects from (his) mouth, throat and lips."
He wrote that he had always used the smoking alternative device properly and usually had the shop where he bought it replace its battery when necessary and perform maintenance on it.
"I've been doing this for about a year now and assure you I did not do anything I wasn't supposed to, but it exploded in my face," Hall wrote. "I know vapes help people quit smoking cigarettes and that's amazing. I just want to bring to light this is possible, that they can explode without warning."
Hall said he never expected what happened and urged those who saw his story to share it so other e-cigarette users could be warned of the possibility.
“I vape (I know, terrible and uncool), but I no longer do and I hope to possibly sway those that do to maybe reevaluate or find other methods of smoking,” Hall wrote.
Though some who read Hall’s post expressed skepticism, he assured the doubters that the incident really happened. It would not have been the first time, either.
A report released by FEMA in October 2014 recounted at least 25 separate incidents in which e-cigarettes had exploded or started fires in the U.S. between 2009 and August 2014. Though no one was killed, nine people were injured, including two who suffered serious burns.
Angalee Hall also warned the public against using the devices. Angalee, who herself used to vape, told the East Idaho News that she got a call from her son as he was being rushed to the hospital.
"I got the phone call and I heard, 'We're on our way to the hospital," Angalee Hall told the newspaper. "He said, 'The e-cigarette blew up and it's really bad, Mom.'"
She teared up as she recalled hearing her grandchildren ask for their father while he was hospitalized.
“I’m the one that heard them cry and say, ‘Where’s dad?’” Angalee Hall said. “All they saw was his mouth blown up and all the blood.”
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