Experts: Hand sanitizer not a major car-fire risk
As summer arises and the coronavirus pandemic continues, concerns about the flammability of alcohol-based hand sanitizers (ABHS) are flooding the internet.
“Did you know that you ‘Should Not’ leave hand sanitizer in your cars that could get over 70 degrees!” Cathy Pagendarm posted on Facebook May 19.
Pagendarm posted a photo of a flyer titled “Safety Alert: Risk of Leaving Hand Sanitizer in Hot Vehicles,” which depicted an image of a burnt car door and the specialty contractor company Quanta Services Inc. logo. The flyer described a car fire involving a 250ml container of ABHS and urged readers not to make the same mistake.
“This is fake I have kept hand sanitizer in my car for years and almost all my coworkers do the same,” one user commented. “I hate these fear creating posts,” another wrote.
Western Lakes Fire District in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, fueled the online confusion when it posted a similar claim and identical photo on May 21.
“By its nature, most hand sanitizer is alcohol-based and therefore flammable. Keeping it in your car during hot weather, exposing it to sun causing magnification of light through the bottle,” the fire district wrote. “And particularly being next to open flame while smoking in vehicles or grilling while enjoying this weekend — can lead to disaster.”
Facebook users responded to the fire district’s warning and use of the image with similar disbelief and outrage.
“This is a TOTALLY irresponsible post,” one wrote. “You should edit the image that you used, which was not caused by hand sanitizer, and adjust your ‘warning.’ ”
The fire district linked National Fire Protection Association’s April 17 video “Fire safety considerations for hand sanitizer” to its post. NFPA’s video describes how hand sanitizer is ignitable if met with a “viable ignition source” because of its 60% alcohol but does not mention the risk of car fires.
In the YouTube comments, a viewer asked if alcohol-based hand sanitizer could spontaneously combust in a hot car. “For it to spontaneously combust with no other, external ignition source other than selfheating alone, you’d have to reach over 700 degrees F!”
Although leaving small amounts of alcohol-based hand sanitizer in your car does not pose a significant fire risk, it should not be kept in vehicles because high temperatures can lower its disinfectant ability.
NFPA wrote May 21.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has acknowledged the low threat of alcohol-based hand sanitizer fires and released guidelines for safe storage in health care facilities. “Although the incidence of fires related to (alcohol-based hand sanitizer) is very low, it is vital that ABHS is stored safely and that bulk dispensers are installed and maintained correctly,” its website says.
Post removed and clarified
Western Lakes Fire District later removed the warning and posted a statement apologizing for the confusion and clarifying that the image was not its own. “While we never made the claim that the photo utilized was from our district or from an exploding container of hand sanitizer, it has become clear that that inference and speculation made is seem as though it was,” it wrote.
It warned about the effects of exposed flames and sun magnification with alcohol-based hand sanitizer, although it had not seen any incidents with ABHS before. “While infrequent, there have been cases in the recent past were reflecting light placed through a clear bottle was able to focus onto a combustible surface and cause a fire,” WFLD wrote.
Our ruling: False
Experts say alcohol-based hand sanitizer is flammable, but can only ignite if a flame is introduced. Although leaving small amounts of alcoholbased hand sanitizer in your car does not pose a significant fire risk, it should not be kept in vehicles because high temperatures can lower its disinfectant ability.