Posted: 6/20/2006 11:27:14 AM EDT
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Bullets fly at Greece house fire ETA link www.democratandchronicle.com/app/pbcs.dll/article?aid=2006606200322 Victoria E. Freile Staff writer (June 20, 2006) — GREECE — Firefighters responding to a house fire Sunday night were greeted by the sound of shotgun blasts — but they weren't caught in a shootout. Upon arrival at 1053 Flynn Road about 9:30 p.m., firefighters learned that the homeowner had guns, ammunition and gunpowder inside the burning house, and the sound of shotgun shells exploding and banging around forced firefighters to battle the fire from outside the house. Apparently, the homeowner packed and loaded his own bullets, said John Nolan, assistant chief of the North Greece Fire Department. The homeowner had properly stored his guns and ammunition in a metal cabinet in a second-floor bedroom, but ammunition inside the cabinet had started exploding from the heat in the burning room, he said. As firefighters approached the room, they heard shotgun shells hitting various objects and decided it was not safe to battle the blaze inside the structure. Instead, they battled the fire from outside until they felt it was safe to enter, Nolan said. After the fire was put out, firefighters reportedly found bullet holes in the walls and in several objects in the room, he said. The call came in after two residents, watching television on the first floor of the single-family house, smelled smoke, walked upstairs to investigate, noticed the fire and heard shotgun shells going off, Nolan said. They left the house safely and called for help, he said. The second-floor sustained heavy fire damage. The rest of the house sustained smoke and water damage. Fire officials are investigating the cause. The residents are reportedly staying with neighboring family members.  From Greece,New York. |
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We do this experiment every couple years at the fire station for the new guys... We burn ammo, the only ones that I would call a real danger are the ones that are in a rifle..The ones loose or in a box dont do much more than pop or the brass takes off like a little rocket. I have seen .22 pop pretty good to the point of you were close It may go through the gear, but our real danger is the rounds that are loaded into a firearm, not the loose rounds. That being said, I would go in to save a human life, but I would rather not be around it if I could avoid it. |
The article doesn't say that the guns were unloaded. It's not a far stretch to think that they may be. |
Agree 100%. That being said I wouldn't want to be too close to a strong safe with a bunch of loose powder in it when it cooked off. |
There's only one way to find out for sure. I'd like to propose the Campfire of Truth. |
But they are not designed for pressure from inside the can. If pressure builds up, it will cause the seal to fail and the gasses will leak out. Non-confined ammo does not "explode" or cause the bullet to take off. As I noted in another thread, just a couple of days ago: "This question comes up a lot. And it is wrongly answered a lot. Years ago, the NRA did extensive testing of setting off ammo while it was not in a firearm. An article was published in an NRA booklet along with pictures. In short, various rounds were set off by either heating the primer or with electrical power. The rounds were suspended on a wire rack and covered with a standard cardboard box. As expected by knowledgable experts, when the rounds cooked off and were not confined within a gun chamber, the lightest part of the shell, the case, simply backed off the bullet which is much heavier. In some cases, the case ruptured, but in no case did any part of the cartridges even punch a hole through the cardboard box. This included several centerfire rounds such a .30-06, .22 rounds, and shotgun shells. One of the main reasons in conducting the tests was to determine if it was possible for bystanders to be injured by "flying pieces" of the rounds. Their conclusion was that if the pieces could not even puncture a cardboard box, they could not cause injury. Tales of cartridges falling into fires and severely injuring bystanders are simply false. Almost 100% of the stories such as this original post, are lies told to cover-up a misuse of a firearm." Also, to see ammo "cooking off", see this www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot9.htm |
| The danger from exploding ammunition was debunked by Hatcher a long time ago, in addition a number of tests in the 90's checked his work and came to the same conclusion, a Fire Fighter's turn out coat is more than sufficient to stop any projectile or debris from exploding ammo. This is documented in the March 1996 issue of American Rifleman. |
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I have been around campfires in which ammo was tossed. I have also, unbeknownst to me, built fires on top of unfired rounds. The rounds can and will detonate, like a mini grenade in some instances. Of all the reports that I have heard from others, I decline to be near ammo cooking off in a fire. While it may not kill you, it can/will result in injury. Ranger8541 was a witness to one of these injuries, I think. As I recall it was severe, and he flatly refuses to be near a fire if ammo is tossed in. I have seen 22 ammo tossed in to campfires as a poor man's firecracker. I leave the area when that occurs. Some say it is harmless, others (myself included) believe there is a genuine danger. TRG |