A lithium battery explosion left a Scottish man with severe burns requiring emergency airlift and skin graft surgery after the device detonated in his pocket while he worked at a jewelry workshop.

Battery Detonates Like Firework

Gavin Sutherland, 40, was working in his Orkney workshop in February when he heard a hissing sound from his pocket. Within seconds, the spare vape battery erupted. The blast burned through his denim jeans and boxer shorts, searing the fabric into his thigh. Sutherland ran to the door as the battery rolled from his destroyed pocket onto the ground. He immediately applied cold water to the wound, but pain quickly overwhelmed him as melted fabric fused to his burned flesh.

Colleagues placed burns gel on the injury and drove Sutherland to Balfour Hospital in Kirkwall. He expected minor treatment but collapsed from extreme pain upon arrival at the emergency room. Medical staff removed melted fabric pieces from the wound, revealing a finger-length burn with extensive searing across the entire pocket area. Doctors determined the injury severe enough to require specialist care at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, located an hour away by helicopter.

Emergency Airlift And Surgery

Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance dispatched a helicopter for the mainland transport. Sutherland remained sedated on morphine for most of the flight, waking only as the aircraft approached Aberdeen. The flight crew provided reassurance and comfort during the emergency transfer. At Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, surgeons performed skin graft surgery to repair the extensive damage. While the explosion caused no muscle damage, Sutherland sustained permanent scarring on his leg from the battery detonation and resulting burns.

Lithium Battery Dangers

Spare lithium batteries pose explosion risks when metal objects in pockets create electrical shorts between battery terminals. The resulting chemical reaction generates intense heat within seconds, potentially igniting fires or causing thermal runaway explosions. Safety experts recommend storing spare batteries in protective cases, never loose in pockets with keys or coins. Sutherland’s nine-year-old son Caleb and a friend organized a 20-mile sponsored bicycle ride following the incident, raising nearly seven thousand dollars for the air ambulance charity that transported his father to lifesaving treatment.