Hurricane Safety - Photo of the day - with link to important handling info. Don't try this - anywhere!

Safety first - especially when preparing for a significant weather event such as a storm.  This is simply unbelievable, commonly remarked with "WTH"? 

This photo has been circulating social media.  I, myself have witnessed several examples of dangerous handling of fuel cans - Thursday, 8/29/2019 - I witnessed a person filling the containers while they remained in the back of her SUV. That's right, apparently not wanting to lift the containers to and from the ground (to safely fill) she put her vehicle at risk of being soaked by an overflow or fuel spill.  Needless to say, I did not pull in directly behind her.

Please read online: Understanding New Regulations for Portable Fuel Containers, by Kelly Burke  Updated 08/10/19.

I hope the actions in the photo are staged for effect and not an accurate depiction of an actual event. I claim fair use in order to put out this safety lesson on handling flammable materials.  

Read important tips contained in a document that is part of a series from the Agricultural Engineering Department, Agricultural Extension Service, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee. Publication date: April 1986. The material is just as valid today.

NASD National Ag Safety Database - Storing Gasoline and Other Flammables, by Timothy G. Prather:

CONTAINERS

How many times have you seen people pumping gasoline into milk jugs and the like and then putting it in the trunk of the car or the back of the truck to haul it home?

Have you ever wondered how they make it home without setting the vehicle on fire, or how they keep the house from burning days later when the fuel expands, possibly rupturing the jug or blowing the top off? Milk jugs, anti-freeze jugs, glass containers and many 'gas cans' are not suitable for carrying or storing gasoline.

Stability: The cans must remain stable when filled and placed on a 30 degree slope.  

Leakage: When a filled safety can is inverted, the valve cannot leak more than four drops per minute over a period of five minutes (UL) or 10 minutes (FM). This test must be passed before and after 5,000 (FM) or 10,000 (UL) normal opening/closing operations of the valve. In addition, the seams and joints are examined under pressure for leaks. 

BLOG EDITOR'S NOTE: The plastic buckets obviously are a big fail as to the safety ratings.

I sure hope he made it home safe. I sure hope that the vehicle was fully aired out as gas vapors are much more explosive than liquid gasoline.

Don’t do this. And if you have to, don’t do this near anyone I care about.