Fire Hazard – Things You Shouldn't Keep In Your Car

For many, a car is just transport; for others, it's family. Regardless of your view, certain items can pose serious fire risks to you, your vehicle, and others.

You might scoff, but on a hot day, your car's interior can easily exceed 140°F (60°C+) – hot enough to ignite common items unknowingly left inside.

This blog will highlight some everyday items that can easily become fire hazards in your car.

Let's explore these dangers, shall we?

Flammable Aerosols & Liquids Are Ticking Time Bombs!

Common, often-overlooked items like your favorite deodorant or hand sanitizer can do more than just start a fire in your car; they can act as accelerants.

You might correctly counter that a bottle of deodorant or hand sanitizer won't spontaneously burst into flames. However, remember that anything with high alcohol content emits a ton of fumes.

In an enclosed space like your car's cabin on a hot summer day (where temperatures can exceed 140°F), a leaking bottle can saturate the air with highly flammable alcohol fumes. This mix can then explosively ignite!

We don’t want that to happen now, do we?

Avoid leaving flammable aerosols and liquids in your car, period!

Batteries & Electronics

Look around you – how many electronic gadgets do you own? Many, right?

Whether it’s your mobile phone, the power bank, that smartwatch or your sleek little laptop, all of these devices will be powered by Lithium-ion or Lithium-polymer batteries. And Lithium-ion batteries are prone to thermal runaway or explosive failure whenever the ambient temperature heads northward!

Additionally, modern car owners often track their vehicles using GPS trackers and vehicle tracking devices. To those people, experts recommend they invest in GPS live tracking devices that are not powered by their onboard battery packs but by the OBD2 ports of vehicles that need to be tracked. This reduces the fire risk by several folds.

In summary, remember to: remove all personal electronic devices and portable battery packs from your car when it will be left to bake under the open sky on a hot summer day, for a long time.

It is that simple!

Magnifying Objects

Did you know that innocent bottle of water you have lying on the dashboard of your vehicle can act similarly to a magnifying glass?

When positioned correctly, a bottle of water can act like a converging lens, focusing sunlight into a pinpoint. This concentrated ray can easily ignite materials inside your car, such as upholstery or floor mats!

Keep things that don’t belong inside your car, out of the vehicle and if you absolutely have to, hide items inside your car in areas (such as the glovebox or the center console storage box) that are away from direct sunlight.

Food and Beverages

While leaving food and beverages in your car won't immediately cause a fire, consistently doing so can attract rodents. These rodents might chew through your car's wiring, potentially causing electrical arcing which would lead to a fire.

The lesson here is clear: keep your car clean for both hygiene and safety reasons.

Prevention Is Better Than Cure – Isn’t It?

Car fires are surprisingly common, yet often very easy to prevent. As a car owner, you just need to be vigilant. Simply keep track of what items you have or leave inside your vehicle – especially when it's parked under the open sky, baking through a scorching day!