RELATED: If You Live in These States, Fill Up Your Gas Tank Right Now. While it may seem obvious to some, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) found it necessary to remind consumers that they shouldn’t fill any container other than a gas can with gasoline. After a photo of a trunk full of bags of gasoline went viral, the CPSC issued a statement to the public regarding the practice. “Do not fill plastic bags with gasoline,” the product safety authority tweeted on May 12. “Use only containers approved for fuel.” For the latest health and safety news delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter. In a follow-up tweet, the CPSC acknowledged that the precarious situation many people currently find themselves in due to the gas shortage has led to desperate measures, but that people should still try to protect their wellbeing above all else. “We know this sounds simple, but when people get desperate they stop thinking clearly. They take risks that can have deadly consequences. If you know someone who is thinking about bringing a container not meant for fuel to get gas, please let them know it’s dangerous,” the CPSC wrote. It’s not just the risk of gasoline spilling in your car you have to worry about if you’re transporting gasoline in plastic bags—transferring it to other containers may prove perilous in some situations. The CPSC recommended following the instructions for transport and storage printed on your gasoline can and avoiding potential ignition sources if transferring the gasoline between containers. “Flame jetting is a sudden and possibly violent flash fire that can occur when pouring flammable liquids from a container over an exposed flame or other ignition source,” the product safety authority tweeted. “NEVER pour flammable liquids from a container over an exposed flame.” While it’s good practice to exclusively keep gasoline in either your car’s gas tank or a gas can, recent photos and videos purporting to show people hoarding gas in plastic bags or storage totes are not what they seem.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb According to Snopes, a widely-circulated photo of a trunk full of gas bags that many have claimed to be recent actually came from a gasoline theft incident in Huauchinango, Mexico in 2019. Similarly, a viral video of a woman filling a plastic storage tote with gasoline at a gas station was also shot in 2019. RELATED: This One Thing Is Disappearing From 300 Walmart Stores.
