A pocket-sized fire sent a film-goer to Dunedin Hospital with serious injuries after a mishap with a vape battery.
Willowbank station Senior Station Officer Cam McLachlan said a crew was called to reports of an explosion and smoke in the foyer of Reading Cinema in the Octagon about 2.55pm yesterday.
When they arrived they found a man with a hand-sized burn on his legs after coins in his pocket interacted with a loose vaporiser battery.
St John paramedics work with firefighters to transport a seriously injured man from Dunedin’s Reading Cinema to Dunedin Hospital after an e-cigarette caused a fire in his pocket. PHOTO: GREGOR RICHARDSON
SSO McLachlan said he had never seen an injury like it and said people should be cautious with all batteries, particularly lithium-ion ones as they held more energy than other types.
A St John spokeswoman said an ambulance took the man to Dunedin Hospital in a serious condition.
