Van carrying more than 2,000 vapes bursts into flames on highway, CT officials say

A van carrying more than 2,000 vapes burst into flames after it was involved in an accident on a highway, Connecticut officials say.

Officials responded to the fire July 18 on an interstate in Southington, according to the Southington Fire Department.

The van carrying the vapes, also known as electronic cigarettes, rear-ended another vehicle, and its engine compartment ignited, Battalion Chief Tom Donnelly told McClatchy News.

The vapes also caught fire, he said.

The drivers of both vehicles were taken to hospitals with injuries that were not considered life-threatening, he said.

An environmental services contractor responded to help with cleanup, Dustin Mitchell, president of Environmental Services, Inc., based in South Windsor, told McClatchy News.

The company shared photos of the burned van and charred vapes on its Facebook page.

Since vapes contain nicotine, they are considered hazardous waste, he said.

Each vape must be individually bagged prior to disposal because they have lithium-ion batteries, he said. Lithium-ion batteries can ignite if they touch each other. Since the fire damaged the plastic shells of many of the vapes, the batteries are exposed, which poses a fire hazard.

Once all the damaged vapes are properly packaged, they’ll be brought to a disposal facility, he said.

The batteries inside vapes can catch fire or explode if overheated, according to Levin Simes, a California-based law office.