Can Coca-Cola Be Used to Put out Fires? Here’s a Fact Check
Fire safety officials do not recommend using soda bottles to douse fires.
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CLAIM
A video showing a fireman putting out a fire with Coca-Cola bottles has gone viral on social media with the claim, “Keep 1 or 2 bottles of Coca-Cola or Pepsi in the Kitchen. Should a sudden fire occur, just open the bottle, shake it quickly & spray on to the fire. Please share this to everyone you know, you might save someone's life.”
The video was widely circulated on Whatsapp and Facebook.
TRUE OR FALSE?
Though the video is authentic, fire safety officials do not recommend using soda bottles to douse fires.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
A reverse image search of a screenshot from the video led us to several links from three years ago. The video was uploaded by a Facebook page, Kuanyewism from Singapore and went viral. Another YouTube account shared the video in May 2016 and it now has over 1.5 Million views.
You can watch the video here:
However, fire safety officials recommend that Coca-Cola should not be used to put out fires. The Quint spoke to Sunil Choudhary, the Deputy Chief Officer (New Delhi Zone) of the Department of Delhi Fire Services, who stated that the soda bottle has several chemicals which might react with anything in the surroundings.
“It might douse simple fires because it’s liquid and reduces the heat but we would never use a Coca-Cola bottle to extinguish fires,” he said.
The origin of fire is essential in determining which agent to use to stop the fire. Rather than keeping a stock of soda bottle, it’s advisable to keep a bucket of water for emergencies, Choudhary added.
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