Watch as an E-Cigarette Causes Man's Pants to Burst Into Flames

Surveillance video footage captured the scene that unfolded inside a Kentucky convenience store when a man's e-cigarette exploded inside his pocket and set his pants on fire Saturday.

Josh Hamilton was approaching the counter at the Owensboro convenience store when his pants can be seen suddenly bursting into smoke and flames as he begins to panic and hastily exits the building, according to Fox News Insider. As Hamilton frantically attempts to remove his burning pants, a store clerk can be seen grabbing a fire extinguisher and putting out the flames.

Hamilton was later taken to a nearby hospital to receive treatment for the second-degree burns on his leg caused by the e-cigarette battery's explosion, Fox News Insider reported.

This is not the first incident that has brought the topic of e-cigarette safety to national attention. Evan Spahlinger of Miami was placed in a medically induced coma for several days after an e-cigarette reportedly exploded inside his mouth in October, according to CBS News.

"There's an alternative to smoking cigarettes. It's supposed to be a safer and a healthier way of doing it," Spahlinger told CBS News.

The U.S. Fire Administration stated that more than two dozen cases of e-cigarette explosions were reported between 2009 and 2014, CBS News noted. Most of the explosions seem to be connected to the vaporizer's lithium-ion battery being either over-charged or suffering punctures, defects or overheating.

"It has the same fuel capability as gasoline," Venkat Viswanathan, a mechanical engineering professor at Carnegie Mellon University, told CBS News.

But the American Vaping Association issued a statement in which it defended the use of e-cigarettes. "When charged and used under proper conditions, vapor product batteries pose no more of a fire risk than similar lithium-ion batteries that are used in cell phones and laptops," the statement read.

In order to avoid any calamities or injuries, e-cigarette advocates recommend that potential users always use compatible batteries and chargers and avoid placing the e-cigarette battery in contact with metal objects like coins, keys or jewelry.

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