I had a Bic or other brand of lighter, and used it to light a cigar while driving. Then I put it down in a little plastic well built into the car between seats.
Occasionally a lighter won't go right out when you release the lever!
Well, it ignited some napkins and that spread to the plastic itself.
I was smoking a cigar, so I didn't notice anything until the plastic started smoldering. Then I thought: "BOY, New Jersey has some nasty air pollution. I can smell something like burning plastic even over this cigar!"
"I wonder why my right elbow is feeling warm?"
I looked down and saw flames consuming napkins and plastic molding, washing around a Bic butane lighter. Inside my car. While I was driving.
That was scary. I grabbed and flung the lighter before it could melt or the butane could explode. Then I pulled over darn fast and was able to mostly out it out with my hands and a towel I happened to have handy. It was still smoldering a little until I found some water to sprinkle around through the melted holes in the plastic.
Make sure that butane lighters have gone OUT before you put them down amongst flammable objects! Kind of like hikers need to make sure that matches are cold enough to pinch before letting go of them.
Now that I'm paying attention, I see that many lighters can take several seconds to go out after being released. Each time, I think of my elbow "getting warm" and then seeing flames lick around a butane lighter.
