A video of a car burning on a roadside is going viral on social media with the claim that it caught fire due to a water bottle left inside the vehicle. It shows the car, which purportedly was exposed to extreme heat, getting charred. Thick flames of fire were seen coming out of the vehicle. While the location of the incident is unclear, it is believed to be an incident from the Delhi-NCR region, which witnessed heatwave earlier this year.
A car was seen burning in fire and turning black, as the video opened. Later, it showed an Instagrammer urging people to ensure safety during the summer season and when driving under scorching heat.
Influencer films video to warn people
Referring to the car fire recorded in the video, which allegedly took place due to exposure of a water bottle left inside the vehicle with sunlight, he suggested that it is dangerous to place water bottles on the seats during sunny weather. "These bottles are burning my car seats," he said while claiming that these transparent plastic containers act like magnifying glasses and hold the potential to burn the seat, and eventually put the car on fire.
Video records fumes coming out...
In his video, he showed viewers how the seat of his car was adversely affected by sunlight which travelled through a water bottle and released smoke followed by fire, which created holes on the cushion.
On this note, he asked people to carefully store water bottles during their drive and not leave them unattended. "Water bottle can put your car on fire. So, always make sure if you are keeping these bottles in the vehicle, then keep them under the seat (away from direct exposure to sunlight)," he said.
Can water bottles put your car on fire?
There are several reports trying to verify and support the claim that unattended water bottles, exposed to scorching heat, may be explosive.
A California-based news outlet, ABC 30, addressed the issue and clarified that it is unsafe to leave water bottles in a car on a sunny day. The reason behind the same was attributed to the extreme heat due to sunlight which could cause fire and burn the vehicle out. It termed leaving a bottle in a car a "hazard." Also, a report in NatGeo stated, "As temperature and time increase, the chemical bonds in the plastic increasingly break down and chemicals are more likely to leach."
