Hand Sanitizer, Cigarette Smoke, Poor Ventilation Lead to Car Fire in Rockville

At around 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, a car fire started in the Federal Plaza Shopping Center’s parking lot in Rockville and resulted in the total loss of the vehicle.

Pete Piringer, spokesperson for Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services, tweeted that an adult was treated for minor burns and was taken to the hospital. The adult’s injuries were non-life-threatening, according to Piringer.

The cause of the fire was a combination of the driver using hand sanitizer and smoking a cigarette. Piringer tweeted that this is a bad combination in an unventilated area such as a car.

(5/13 ~530p) Rockville Pike, Federal Plaza shopping Center, vehicle fire; Cause, Driver using hand sanitizer & smoking a cigarette, which is a bad combo in unventilated area like a car; total loss; @MCFRS_EMIHS treated & transported 1 adult w/ minor burns, NLT https://t.co/eJEMD9ODwR pic.twitter.com/nD7i7pQ5Mc

— Pete Piringer (@mcfrsPIO) May 13, 2021

About Deirdre Byrne

Deirdre Byrne is a social media coordinator for Montgomery Community Media. She can be reached at dbyrne@mymcmedia.org or on twitter at @DeirdreByrneMCM.

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