FireNet Community
FIRE SERVICE AND GENERAL FIRE SAFETY TOPICS => Fire Investigation => Topic started by: Mike Buckley on February 17, 2014, 02:02:45 PM
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They always tell us smoking is dangerous!
http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/EXPLODING-E-CIGARETTE-STARTS/story-20634737-detail/story.html
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They have been responsible for a few fires -
http://www.derbyshiretimes.co.uk/news/grassroots/chesterfield-e-cigarette-linked-to-fatal-care-home-blaze-1-6225619 (http://www.derbyshiretimes.co.uk/news/grassroots/chesterfield-e-cigarette-linked-to-fatal-care-home-blaze-1-6225619)
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This is a worrying trend.
Here is another link to the details of the fatal fire arising from this in a care home on October 13 2013
http://www.derbys-fire.gov.uk/news/news-items/fire-at-residential-nursing-home
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Also Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service claim two house fires were started when E Cigs were being charged.
https://www.cumbriacommunitymessaging.co.uk/da/28744/LAPTOP_BATTERIES_AND_E-CIGARETTES.html (link to Merseyside FRS on this has dissapeared)
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http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/everyday-tech/lithium-ion-battery.htm
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Fire perspective - it is the charger being the main problem
Health perspective - why would I want to inhale crap that is no good for me anyway?
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Fire Perspective No its the batteries. Internal shorts often due to contamination leading to an internal discharge that generates a lot of heat.
Health perspective - why inhale crap that is no good for you when you can ingest it?
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K, thanks for putting me right re the fire side!
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Found out today that there are two types of cigarette and two types of charger. In one type the battery cuts out when fully charged, in the other the charger cuts out. The problem is the fitting are the same, this can lead to somebody charging a non cut off battery with a no cut off charger.
Does that make sense?
I have just seen a tweet that one brigade has had 3 incident in a month involving E-cigarettes.
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i don't believe batteries "cut off" when they're charged ... it's the charger itself that should be specifically designed for charging Lithium cells that should monitor and stop charging as appropriate.
Presumably there are some dodgy mass produced oriental chargers out there that don't quite cut the mustard ....
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Just repeating what a colleague's research has unearthed. Will see if I can find out more.
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http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/charging_lithium_ion_batteries
Bed time reading .......
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-26958397
I'll go to the foot of our stairs.
Maybe those of us (me included) linking the smoking ban to a reduction in fires will have to think again!
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See my post above, seems to add weight the my colleagues research.
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... apart from the batteries cutting out when charged .....
it's the chargers that don't stop charging (particularly if they are mismatched with the battery) that cause the problems.
;)
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Mr P
Just walking down the street, you inhale far worse crap. I did a paper some 20 years ago, HMG finally caught up.
PM10s kill 500,000 people each year
davo
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I try not to get out much... there again, just hiding quietly in the Banter Bar...
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I can't do that, the bar steward has banned my disposable non-rechargeable perfectly safe no nicotine Shisha pen :'(
davo2 is in fact davo in disguise..........
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Oops sorry everybody this is supposed to be a sensible thread. Was thinking I was in the banter bar for a minute there
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Also Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service claim two house fires were started when E Cigs purchased from ecigfiend (http://www.ecigfiend.com/category/ecig-accessories/), were being charged.
https://www.cumbriacommunitymessaging.co.uk/da/28744/LAPTOP_BATTERIES_AND_E-CIGARETTES.html (link to Merseyside FRS on this has dissapeared)
I have found e-cigs very useful if you want to quit smoking. Those e-cigs must have been of very poor quality..
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Try asking tobacco companies for a Product Data Sheet..........
davo
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I think Merseyside F&R said there'd been 9 incidents this year prior to the death of a user last week. All related to non manufacturers chargers being used.
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People are using the nearest charger that fits.
In some cases up to 4 times too powerful :o
davo
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It strikes me that the problem has nothing to do with E Cigarettes specifically, it appears to me to be a generic problem with lithium ion/ lithium polymer batteries and their correct charge rate or possible damage to the battery. A Li-Po battery that is dropped can be a dangerous thing. How many e cigarettes are dropped every day? (Rhetorical question) The same thing happens with batteries in toys, models and ......airliners it seems.
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Another fire involving e cigarette charging
http://goo.gl/2wEmma (http://goo.gl/2wEmma)
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Is there any national or local initiative by fire services or trading standards to investigate snd deal with this risk to consumers?
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There is in the south east. However TS are more worried about the non regulation of contents that the battery issue.
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I understand there also may be an issue with the quality of the materials and manufacturing standards of the batteries and in particular impurities and foreign bodies causing weakness in the internal semi permeable insulating membrane and making the battery particularly vulnerable to failure if overcharged. If correct this too could be a trading stanards issue.
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The trouble is they are not regulated. Boot fair fodder! Corner shop fodder! On the corner of the bar fodder! Marketed in nice sweet tasty flavours to entice youngsters. Manufactured down to a price. Never mind its a free market. ::)
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Tests carried out by Staffordshire Fire & Rescue-
http://youtu.be/bjd4N_kabRE (http://youtu.be/bjd4N_kabRE)
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Nice vid. :)
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Check out recent BBC news story. The issue here is often people use chargers that are not designed to be used with the cigarettes. This includes charges like those portable batteries that campers use to charge phones and the like. http://www.bbc.co.uk/search?q=e-cigarette
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I heard about a Fire Officer who had a charger in his back pack - it exploded ! Thankfully he was not hurt.
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So did the charger explode without being connected to the power supply? If so this is surely cause for concern.
If the officer was using the charger inside the backpack he deserves a mention in the Darwin Awards.
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I believe that it has been recently charged but I am sure the Officer concerned was not actually inside the back pack when smoking it ;)
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BBC News: Exploding E-cig battery caught on Leeds Trinity CCTV
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-38397456
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The US navy has recently banned vapping units on all its ships. Its not just about the chargers but the units them selves.
http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=99913