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Overheating vape pen in bag blamed for fire in central Nanaimo

Mar 21, 2018 | 11:39 AM

NANAIMO — A malfunctioning vape pen was likely the cause of a fire that displaced a Nanaimo family.

Nanaimo Fire Rescue inspector Alan Millbank told NanaimoNewsNOW he’s confident the e-cigarette, which was found shoved in the bottom of a backpack, heated up and caught fire inside a bedroom in a Chick A Dee Cres. home around 10 p.m. on March 19.

Millbank said the incident was an example of working smoke detectors saving lives. He said the family of four was able to escape safely after the father heard the alarm and spotted the bag on fire in his son’s room.

In the time it took to grab an extinguisher and call 911, the blaze engulfed the entire room, Millbank said.