Warning
A lot of people keep something to eat and drink inside their car. Especially people who travel a lot every day often have a bottle of water in their car. But did you know that this can actually be life threatening? An American fireman from Idaho experienced this himself and decided to make a video out of it. He was surprised by what had happened and his fire brigade from Oklahoma agreed that they should be warning people about the fire hazard.
Burn marks
The man in question, Dioni Amuchastegui from Idaho, had left a bottle of water in the car when he went out for his lunch break. When he got back to his car, he noticed that smoke was coming from the center console of his car. What had happened? Because of the sun shining into the car, the material underneath the bottle had caught fire. The proof below shows us how quickly a bottle of water can cause a fire inside your car. Dioni was left with two burn marks inside his vehicle!
Fire brigade
We all know the trick where you hold a magnifying glass in the sun to make a fire. Water in a plastic bottle has the exact same effect. The water refracts sunlight, which can cause the material underneath the bottle to catch fire. And if that material is some type of fabric (as is often the case in cars), the fire hazard is pretty serious. Firemen warn drivers about this dangerous possibility. In a test that was done by Oklahoma’s Midwest City Fire Department, the sunlight magnified by a water bottle reached a temperature of 120 °C. The fire develops relatively slowly, but it’s still important to take appropriate measures. So, never leave a bottle water on car chairs and/or in the bright sunlight. Put it under a chair or somewhere else where the sunlight can’t reach it.
Read more: You can cool down your hot car within seconds with this simple trick!
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Source: Good Housekeeping | Image: video still