What happened

Illustrative example. Not a real job or customer.

Illustrative example, not a real incident, home or person. A family in an attached-garage townhome near Sloan's Lake is unloading groceries when a can of bear spray, stored loose on a shelf, falls and its safety clip breaks off. The can sprays for a few seconds toward the car and the floor.

  1. Everyone moves outside through the overhead door; the parent closes the door into the house behind them.
  2. They leave the overhead door open, stay upwind, and rinse eyes and skin with water from a hose outside.
  3. Inside the house, they turn off the bath fans and kitchen hood so the house does not pull garage air in.
  4. Wearing gloves and goggles an hour later, they bag the can, the grocery bags it hit and a floor mat.
  5. They clean the garage floor near the release with absorbent towels and degreasing detergent, and wipe the car's exterior and door handles.
  6. The car's windows were closed, so the cabin needs only a check; they replace the cabin air filter as a precaution.

Because the house door was closed and the household fans were off, almost no residue reached the living space. The garage was usable again the next day, and the family moved bear spray to a closed bin.

What made the difference

Closing the door to the house in the first seconds kept the spray in the garage. Turning off fans mattered because townhome bath fans and kitchen hoods can pull air from the garage through gaps around the door and walls.

Absorbing the oily residue before washing kept it from spreading across the slab and into the driveway.

Garage storage lessons

  • Store bear spray in a closed bin on a low, stable shelf.
  • Keep safety clips on and check them before each trip.
  • Do not store cans where a car door or bike could knock them.
  • Keep a few disposable towels and gloves in the garage.

Common questions

Should the family have called 911?

Not for brief irritation that eased in fresh air. Anyone with trouble breathing should call 911.

Was the car's interior affected?

With windows closed, very little reached the cabin. The owners replaced the cabin filter anyway, since it is cheap and the fan might have drawn garage air.

Could they have used the garage that evening?

Not comfortably. They waited until the next day, after cleaning, when nobody's eyes burned inside.

General information for Berkeley, not a quote or professional advice. In an emergency, call 911.