A used vape that was thrown into a bin caused a house fire which left a family homeless. Heidi Johnson had been downstairs with her four-year-old son and friend when the smoke alarms were set off in April. Heidi, a carer, went upstairs to check them and was shocked to find flames and black smoke coming from her 16-year-old daughter’s bedroom.
It’s believed the lithium in the battery of a “dead” cherry cola-flavoured vape, which had been binned as it had run out, sparked the blaze.
Her teenage daughter returned home to find her house on fire, forcing her to admit the vape belonged to her.
Pictures show the property covered in soot with their belongings ruined.
The three children have been forced to stay with other family members, whilst Heidi says she is living out of her car with their dog Bubbles.
“When I got to the top of the stairs, it was just black. I couldn’t see anything. I saw a bit of a light coming out of my daughter’s bedroom. I pushed the door back and it was all up in flames. My friend and my son were at the bottom of the stairs. I told them to go, I said ‘get out, get out!’ and pushed them next door.”
Heidi added her teenage daughter has taken it “particularly hard” as she “blames herself”.
“She’s devastated, absolutely heartbroken. It’s just a shock. I don’t think I’ve even accepted what has gone on,” Heidi said. “It turned out it was my daughter’s vape, but it had been there for ages. She said it was dead.
“I’ve already banned vapes from my house, but I can’t put it on her. It’s just one of those things that has happened. I know she’s taken it worse, because it was her vape. She blames herself for it. The fire brigade said it was the lithium in the battery that had leaked out of the vape and caused the fire.”
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The family’s house is now ruined beyond repair, as not only was the upstairs destroyed by the smoke and fire, but the downstairs suffered water damage too.
The single mum says she feels heartbroken and that she has been left with “nothing” due to a vape.
Heidi said: “I can’t even go in the house, even if I wanted to get something out, it’s so dangerous. It’s sickening, I’m 37 years old and I’ve got nothing apart from my car, it’s horrible.
“It’s all gone, it burnt everything. The kids have no toys or everyday things. We’ve been left completely homeless, it’s really affecting my kids. I just want to be normal and back with my kids.”
Grateful no one was hurt, Heidi hopes that in sharing her story she can highlight the potential dangers of vapes and the importance of properly disposing of them.
Heidi said: “I’ll survive. I’m here and alive. Just don’t vape. At the end of the day, it isn’t worth it. They don’t even have any warnings or proper disposal places for them.
“Something so dangerous and there’s no proper disposal bins for them, they’re just getting thrown left, right, and centre.
“You don’t think it’s going to happen because it’s dead and it’s useless but it’s taken my whole house out.”
