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Packing e-cigarettes in luggage is fire risk, FAA warns

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USA Today is reporting on the Federal Aviation Administration’s warning for airlines about fire risks from electronic cigarettes stored in checked luggage and is recommending that passengers bring them into the cabins instead.

According to the FAA, in several incidents, e-cigarettes have overheated or caught fire when the heating element was activated accidentally. An e-cigarette caused a fire in August in the checked luggage of a JetBlue flight in Boston, which forced the plane’s evacuation. On January 4 at Los Angeles International Airport, a checked bag was found on fire in a baggage area and emergency responders blamed it on an overheated e-cigarette inside the bag.