Las Vegas Fire Department clears up hand sanitizer facts
As it turns out, not everything is completely true on social media.
Las Vegas Fire Department spokesman Tim Szymanski separated the facts and fiction Monday after a Wisconsin fire department cautioned people over the dangers of leaving hand sanitizer in a vehicle.
“By its nature, most hand sanitizer is alcohol-based and therefore flammable,” read a Facebook post from the Western Lakes Fire District in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. “Keeping it in your car during hot weather, exposing it to sun causing magnification of light through the bottle, and particularly being next to open flame while smoking in vehicles or grilling while enjoying this weekend can lead to disaster.”
Citing the National Fire Protection Association, Szymanski said its research indicated that hand sanitizer left behind in a vehicle “most likely cannot start a fire.”
“The ignition temperature of alcohol used in hand sanitizers is 700 degrees,” Szymanski said in the release. “That means the inside of the car would have to reach 700 degrees before it would catch fire. At that temperature you won’t have a car anyways. The most interiors get in Las Vegas on extremely hot days might be 170 degrees.
“It IS a flammable liquid (alcohol burns) so if the liquid comes in contact with an ignition source, such as a match, lighter, cigarette, faulty wiring, it could catch fire then. You still have to be careful and use it responsibly.”
The “magnifying glass effect” also was examined and determined that it was an “extremely rare possibility” of starting a fire, Szymanski said.
“Bottom line, do not leave anything exposed to direct sunlight in the car (that includes cellphones left on the seat or dash, they will explode,” he added.
A suggestion from Szymanski: Keep a small amount in the car and refill the bottle frequently so it is at full strength. “Every time the hand sanitizer is heated to very hot like here in Las Vegas, it loses some of its effectiveness.”
Contact Tony Garcia at tgarcia@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0307. Follow @TonyGLVNews on Twitter.
