Man gets gnarly leg burn after vape pen explodes in his pocket: 'It scorched my leg completely'

A man in Massachusetts has suffered from first- and second-degree burns after a vape pen exploded inside his pants pocket.

While Tyler Newton was driving last Thursday, his alternative smoking device blew up, causing a fire inside his Jeep. He told Boston news station WCVB that the car filled up with smoke and the batteries “scorched my leg completely.”

“Luckily, it was in the middle of a construction zone, where everything was being paved, so there was no oncoming traffic,” Newton said. “Otherwise, I probably would have gone head-on with someone, because I went back and forth across the road like three or four times before finally getting the fire out and getting to the side of the road.”

Newton went to Leominster Hospital, where he spent four hours in the emergency room for the severe burns, as well as acid burns from the batteries. One of the lithium batteries remains burnt into the rubber mat of his car.

The man is now out of work while he recovers from the burns. However, even when they go away, he doesn’t plan on vaping ever again.

“Well, I’m back to smoking at the moment,” Newton said of his cigarette habit. “I’m probably going to try to seek other alternatives to try to quit.”

E-cigarettes continue to pose a threat to users, not only for health reasons, but also from the functionality of the electric device itself. According to the U.S. Fire Administration, between 2009 and 2016, 195 instances of fires caused by electronic cigarettes were reported.

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

? Teen suffers respiratory failure after just 3 weeks smoking e-cigarettes
? Teens are smoking e-cigs in record numbers, but this vape manufacturer is taking steps to stop it
? Why are fashion’s elite making deadly smoking ‘cool’ again?

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