South Fulton County

Man seriously burned after e-cigarette batteries explode

SOUTH FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — A south Fulton County man is suffering from serious burns after his family says his e-cigarette batteries exploded in his pocket.

“He was not even smoking it. He was not smoking his device at all,” Kyle Petty’s wife, Melody, said.

Melody Petty says her husband was scrolling through his phone when the batteries in his pocket exploded without warning. %

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“There was no warning. There was nothing getting hot in his pocket. Nothing warmed up,” she said. “Nothing gave him the sense that something was wrong. It just exploded. It was like fireworks going off in his pants.”

She heard her husband scream for help, and she said she thought he was going to die.

“When I got to him, he was black, covered in black soot. His hands, his pants leg had been blown off. His leg up from his groin, down to his knee was black and his skin had been pulled back.”

Kyle Petty is being treated for second-and third-degree burns.

Family members and fire officials want others to know that this type of explosion can happen, even though they have not figured out how it’s possible.

Chattahoochee Hills fire officials say the vapor batteries were only five and a half months old.

Channel 2’s Nicole Carr reached out to the Efest battery manufacturer, located in China, but she has not received any comment from them about the complaint.