Federal Government Warns Americans Not to Fill Plastic Bags with Gas During Fuel Shortage

The federal government warned Americans on Wednesday not to fill plastic bags with gasoline during the ongoing fuel shortage on the East Coast.

“Do not fill plastic bags with gasoline,” the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission wrote on social media on Wednesday morning.

The safety board posted their warning after an unverified video of a woman walking away from a gas pump with a plastic bag recirculated on social media.

That video was first posted in December 2019 and not a consequence of the gas shortage on the East Coast after the ransomware attacks on the Colonial Pipeline.

The post was immediately mocked on social media, but also raised concerns that government employees felt it was necessary.

“God bless whoever had to type this on an official government account,” one person wrote on Twitter.

“I am always struck by the contrast of things like man putting a helicopter on Mars… And we also have to tell people not to put gasoline in plastic bags,” another person wrote:

The safety board also warned Americans never to pour gasoline over flames, sharing an image of how it could explode and burn people’s faces.