in the above video link it mentions that temperatures reached only 95 degrees. I think the venting supported ignition.
good question. They must have had some way because the report did not say it was estimated or even a range.
www.snopes.com
; she remains a licensed pediatrician, and I'm currently a basic-science researcher, so our friend-group practically since our undergrad days are all in the biomedical sciences) have had bottles of Purell sitting in their vehicles in-perpetuity even well before SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 became household names. None of our friends or even acquaintances have ever reported such a problem, and we've certainly had various sized bottles in our personal vehicles for, well, going on decades now, in all kinds of environments (including with the vehicle out in open parking lots, for literally days, in South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Texas sun, smack in the middle of summer during vacation seasons).I rarely use my little container of sanitizer. It is mostly there simply to wash my hands not necessarily fully sanitize them and certainly not from any virus concerns (my hands get dirty occasional from work and often there is no water around). I am not a germaphobe by any stretch of the imagination, so the very small container will probably sit there for multiple years before needing any refill. I will probably just make sure the lid is sealed to reduce vapors.As-usual, be cautions of many of today's wildfire-like social media - or even traditional media - pass-alongs. These are low-hanging fruit that often prey on both our worries about the current social situation as well as tend to sensationalize:
Will Hand Sanitizer Combust If Left in a Hot Car?
Hand sanitizer is definitely flammable ... but enough to start a car fire?
With that said......
Is it possible?
Yes.
Is it likely?
In my personal experience, no.
Most health-care professionals I know (and I know a lot - my wife and I both went through medical school in the late-90s/early-oughts
It's like those tales - and physical demonstrations - of water-bottles or even external concerns (such as mirrored surfaces from, say, a building across the parking lot: This London skyscraper can melt cars and set buildings on fire and London's Burning: How a Skyscraper Melts Cars) forming lenses and setting the vehicle's interior materials aflame.
Can it happen.
It certainly can.
But it's not going to be an everyday occurrence.
The more practical worry is that in today's pathogen-conscious environment, we're eager to get our hands - and that of our kiddos' - sanitized, and it's worth remembering that everything inside the car will reach excessive temperatures in the hot summer (regardless whether the car is parked in direct sunlight or not, although shading can delay/mitigate more rapid temperature rises). That gel-like sanitizer that you squeeze out into your or your child's hands can cause quite a bit of discomfort, or even potentially a first-degree burn (translation: like a sunburn). Those of us who are from hotter climates either to the south or the west of the country likely know this already, but for those of us in the north who are not used to having bottles of sanitizer in the car, it's worth remembering now that the sunnier/hotter months are here!
While there have been no officially documented report of static discharge igniting hand-sanitizer in-use (this from the WHO, so it's international, not just Stateside or even North-American, and is current at least as of a month ago, when I last checked), it is nevertheless prudent to remember that particularly the off-brand and newer entries to-market are even higher in alcohol content than the Go-Jo made Purell that's come to define the breed. If you are a smoker or are otherwise using the sanitizer on yourself or your children near open flames (i.e. cooking fire, be it indoors or out), be cognizant of the increased potential to cause actual second/third-degree burns in such a context.
Finally, remember how these gels/liquids work: that the alcohol percentage is a big chunk of that equation - How does hand sanitizer work? - and that this can be negatively impacted by evaporation, which can be hastened with high-temperature storage (and yes, this even applies to that little bottle you've put in your pants pocket - but since that bottle will most likely be used rather quickly and refilled/replaced, it's not as much of a concern as that giant bottle you're keeping in your car's center console).
We lived in South Texas for decades with three months of 95-105F temps annually and never had, nor heard of anyone having, issues with hand sanitizer left in the car.
I never heard about it either and I will not lose sleep over it.
Don't worry, I'm not trying to imply that anyone - including you, of-course! - here is a germophobe. Besides, in today's world, there's worse things to be than that.
Like you so aptly pointed out, a ready source of clean water oftentimes isn't available. And as you also noted, not all common pathogens (or, for that matter, other significant health concerns, such as heavy metals or other pollutants, for those of us who engage in certain hobbies) can be defeated by alcohol based hand-sanitizers: I don't think that there's a parent on this board who won't cringe - and for good reason - when the word "norovirus" is uttered. Yeah, I Dad Hard.Best award in journalism.
Speaker short was the first thing to pop in my mind seeing the pix.
Yup, the Snopes link I posted above as the lead in my first reply to packout tracked that bit of fake-news in-detail.
It's OK, and nothing to feel bad about.
What an absurd immature journalistic response from WLFD! it has become clear... No sh-t Sherlock. You could not have figured that out prior to publication? The entire story concept was a mess from the beginning.
The full reply from WLFD was more detailed and professional - with a full mea-culpa at the end.
This just annoys the heck out of me. Someone learns of a legitimate fire hazard and extrapolates to a current situation which in fact has little to no relevance. The original fire hazard of storing high alcohol content based products outside of an approved fire cabinet with possibly a sprinkler system in place (depending on the volume) is in fact legitimate. Extrapolating this to a small container in a vehicle is to say the least absurd. The fire department certainly knows better and should never have touched this story. They should instead have focused their concerns relating to alcohol and covid to any businesses in their jurisdiction that may now due to covid, store larger amounts of high alcohol content based products. Publishing the photo was wrong but so was the story content along with its warning applications.
The way of the world, though, ain't it, brother?
