Can Hand Sanitizer Cause a Fire in a Hot Car?
Photo: The News Wheel
The Western Lakes Fire District recently made a Facebook post warning about the dangers of leaving hand sanitizer in your car. After seeing the viral post, many drivers became concerned about hand sanitizer catching their cars on fire. However, according to experts, it’s unlikely that you will ever encounter this issue.
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The risks of storing hand sanitizer in your car
On May 21, WLFD posted on Facebook that leaving hand sanitizer in your car could be disastrous, particularly on a hot and sunny day. They wrote, “By its nature, most hand sanitizer is alcohol-based and therefore flammable.”
To back up their claims, WLFD also linked to a previous National Fire Protection Association video, titled, “Fire safety considerations for hand sanitizer.” The video states that hand sanitizers are ignitable, due to their high alcohol content.
You can watch the video below:
Some Facebook users were concerned by the post, while others called out the fire department for including an unrelated photo, which showed a door that had been blown up by an explosion, not a hand sanitizer fire. WLFD has since removed the post and apologized for the photo.
As a result of the viral post, NFPA released another video about hand sanitizers, in which NFPA staff writer Angelo Verzoni clarified, “From a fire safety standpoint, it is not unsafe to leave hand sanitizer inside a hot vehicle.”
You can check out the second video below:
According to NFPA, without using an external ignition source, hand sanitizer won’t combust unless temperatures rise to 700 degrees. There’s a greater risk of a car fire if you have more than five gallons of hand sanitizer, but for the average driver, there isn’t a significant risk.
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If you store hand sanitizer in your vehicle, it’s unlikely that doing so will lead to a fire. However, it’s important to note that hand sanitizer loses some of its effectiveness after sitting in the heat for several hours, so it’s good practice to carry hand sanitizer in your pocket or purse instead of leaving it in your car.
Amanda Drago lives in West Chester, Ohio with her wonderful family, which includes her adorable dog, Coco. Amanda recently graduated from Miami University with degrees in both marketing and creative writing. However, if she was ever forced to change career paths, she imagines that she would train dogs for movies. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, writing, and watching Netflix. She also has a special place in her heart for theatre and purchases tickets to as many shows as she can. See more articles by Amanda.