Last month, a fire in a storage trailer containing hazardous chemicals shut down a three-mile stretch of highway in Athens, Maine, as fire crews from four towns put out the blaze. The box trailer housed solvents, propane and other hazardous material. Luckily, firefighters extinguished the flames before they reached most of the combustible materials. The cause? Possibly a discarded cigarette, a combination of chemicals, or the heat generated within the trailer on a warm, sunny day, according to fire officials.

Yes, storing hazardous materials is serious business — with dangerous, potentially catastrophic consequences.