Have you seen this yet? If not, you most likely will either via your social media activity or by e-mail. This week this picture and various stories about what happened have gone “viral” after a Wisconsin Fire District posted it on their FB Account as an attempt to educate their followers. The “shares” are over 6K as of this morning and it is now being circulated by the national media – referencing the Fire District’s post as factual.
NOTE: the Fire District has admitted it was not their fire nor their picture, they were just trying to raise awareness of the hazards of hand sanitizers and they are working to post a clarification.
I have written three articles about the hazards of hand sanitizer since this COVID19 pandemic trying to help people understand the hazards, I just did not use this photo and the various stories that accompany it. There are two videos I encourage you to watch to better understand how these urban myths are not quite as easy as their stories proclaim.
I first saw this picture in early March from a fellow safety professional who was skeptical and wanted my opinion on if it could happen. This was about the time when the hand sanitizer shortage was front and center in the national news. So could this event happen as stated?