--- description: FEMA reports 25 incidents since 2009 title: Colorado Man Injured In E-Cigarette Explosion, Family Says image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2cdc7793fa85c640/698872ac3c16397dfa45ae53/e-cigarette.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Colorado Man Injured In E-Cigarette Explosion, Family Says by [Daniel White](/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 24, 2015 10:59 PM CUT  A man smokes an E-Cigarette on Aug. 27, 2014 in London. A man smokes an E-Cigarette on Aug. 27, 2014 in London.Dan Kitwood—Getty Images by [Daniel White](/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 24, 2015 10:59 PM CUT A Colorado Springs man is [hospitalized](http://www.wmcactionnews5.com/story/30580857/man-seriously-injured-when-e-cig-explodes-in-his-face "undefined") after his family says an electronic cigarette blew up in his face. Cordero Caples suffered a broken neck, facial fractures, burns to his mouth and shattered teeth in the explosion, according to a post on a [GoFundMe](https://www.gofundme.com/knbwfd9w "undefined") account his sister, Colessia Porter, setup to raise money for his medical bills. She says Caples, 29, was using an electronic cigarette made by Kangertech when it exploded Friday. The Colorado Springs Fire Department told Memphis NBC affiliate [WMC-TV](http://www.wmcactionnews5.com/story/30580857/man-seriously-injured-when-e-cig-explodes-in-his-face "undefined") that emergency crews responded to the medical call at Caples’ job, but that the incident is still under investigation. Kangertech did not immediately respond to TIME’s request for comment. Caples, according to his sister, underwent spinal surgery on Sunday, a situation she described to the station as “heartbreaking” because “any sudden move can cause him to be in a paralyzed state, and that is something we don’t want.” Safety officials say that fires and explosions caused by e-cigarettes are rare, with the Federal Emergency Management Agency aware of some 25 incidents between 1999 and 2014 where nine people were injured, [according to CBS News.](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/man-seriously-injured-by-e-cigarette-explosion/ "undefined") “The shape and construction of e-cigarettes can make them more likely than other products with lithium-ion batteries to behave like ‘flaming rockets’ when a battery fails,” [FEMA](https://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/electronic%5Fcigarettes.pdf "undefined") warned in a 2014 report. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4126437/colorado-man-injured-in-e-cigarette-explosion-family-says/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4126437/colorado-man-injured-in-e-cigarette-explosion-family-says/"},"headline":"Colorado Man Injured In E-Cigarette Explosion, Family Says","datePublished":"2015-11-24T22:59:10.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:53:35.609Z","description":"He suffered a broken neck and other injuries, according to his sister","url":"https://time.com/4126437/colorado-man-injured-in-e-cigarette-explosion-family-says/","keywords":["Colorado","health"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2cdc7793fa85c640/698872ac3c16397dfa45ae53/e-cigarette.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Daniel White","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/daniel-white/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2cdc7793fa85c640/698872ac3c16397dfa45ae53/e-cigarette.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"World Health Organisation Calls For Regulation Of Ecigarettes","caption":"A man smokes an E-Cigarette on Aug. 27, 2014 in London.","creditText":"Dan Kitwood—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4126437/colorado-man-injured-in-e-cigarette-explosion-family-says/","name":"Colorado Man Injured In E-Cigarette Explosion, Family Says"}}]}] ```