When 18-year-old Lauren Palmer picked up her vaporizer from its charger earlier this month, she noticed it was smoking hot. As soon as she put it down, her mom says, it exploded like a bomb, firing shrapnel into the walls of her room.
After the small mechanized firecracker was flung out a window of the Sturgeon County home and into a snow bank, she surveyed the damage: burn marks scorched through bedding and clothing, metal was melted into the walls and the room itself was streaked with soot and thick smoke.
“If it was in her hand, it would have blown up her whole hand,” said mother Tammy Lidster-Palmer, who turned to Facebook to warn others about the dangers of using vapes.
The warning, which was posted publicly on Nov. 17 shortly after the incident happened, quickly gained traction from the public with both concern and criticism.
Vape users who commented on it cautioned on improper handling – such as charging with the wrong cord or carrying it in a pocket – which can lead to batteries exploding within the device.
Lidster-Palmer said the post only solidified her resolve in spreading the word around safety.
“If they are that unstable, really are they safe?” she asked. “My thing is safety. Know what you’re doing, do it right.”
She said while her daughter was using the proper charger and battery for the device, she often carried the small vaporizer in her purse where it could have bumped against other objects. Her daughter also didn’t clean it very often, Lidster-Palmer added.
Going forward, she wants people to know how to safely handle the popular smoking-cessation device before using it.
Tammy Formoe, owner of Saint City Vapes, agrees.
“It’s like a Duracell battery – you don’t want to carry it around in your pocket or purse or (it) can short out,” she said.
Common problems Formoe notes from improper handling include carrying the device in a pocket or purse, unintentionally pressing the “on” button, using the wrong charger or leaving the vape in a vehicle that’s too cold or too hot.
Each time a customer buys a new vaporizer at Saint City Vapes, it’s taken out of its packaging and assembled in the store, with staff showing the buyer how to use the vape and how to safely handle it.
But those who obtain the device second-hand or online don’t have access to any safety demonstrations, unless they look it up online.
Marci Ng, communications adviser at the City of St. Albert, said in an email that the fire department has responded to one incident involving a vaporizer, although she couldn’t comment on when the incident occurred.
While there was no fire or any injuries, the incident caused some property damage.
“The City of St. Albert is concerned about the health and safety of all residents and visitors to our community,” Ng noted.
SMOK, the company that manufactured the device that exploded, didn’t respond to multiple media requests by press time.
Lidster-Palmer said her daughter hasn’t used a vape since hers erupted in flames.
“She’s not going to do this or touch a vape again,” she said. “It was very, very dangerous.”
