The man who was critically injured after an electric scooter exploded in his face has spoken out saying he "wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy".
Adam Clayton, 56, was rushed to hospital with life-threatening injuries last month after an e-scooter exploded while charging in his Wellington hotel room.
Clayton said he was charging the borrowed scooter in his room at the Tory Hotel when it began making sounds he described as "alien".
The 56-year-old told The Post the scooter "literally exploded in my face" from about a metre away, and sent a "ball of flame" toward him - throwing him across the room and into a ranch slider door.
"The whole room was in flames. I was pretty much [thinking], 'get off the floor and find the exit otherwise, I was going to die'."
While he attempted to protect part of his face from the fiery flames, it was still burnt - so too were his hands and legs.
"I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy," Clayton told The Post.
Clayton spent about a week in critical condition at the specialist burn unit in the Hutt Hospital, where his condition stabilised - now he faces at least a year of recovery.
Warning against charging e-scooters incorrectly
While Clayton believes he did everything right when charging the scooter, he told The Post he would only charge lithium-ion batteries away from the house and inside a metal box next time.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) national risk reduction manager Peter Gallagher told Newshub last month, there is "so much energy" in the batteries and they release "very very quickly".
"So they burn very, very hot."
Electric Scooter shop owner Jonno Leonard said if the correct charger isn't used, it can destabilise the chemical composition of the battery "and those batteries do contain all the elements to self-combust."
Gallager urged Kiwis to charge their e-scooters and bikes away from living areas and under supervision.
"The worst thing that can happen is the scooter is between you and your exit and you have to get past a burning scooter or lithium-ion battery to get out of the house."
