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Posted: 3/20/2009 9:59:10 AM EDT
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As I look at my dozens and dozens and dozens of filled ammo cans all over my basement, I'm kind of concerned about fire safety. Has anyone ever thought of something like this to "shield" stored ammo?
http://www.eagle-mfg.com/flammable.html Any opinions on this issue are greatly appreciated. Surely I cant be the only one worried at least a little bit about this. |
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I beg to leave this to the Pros: You FIREATERS at ArfCom.
C'mon, FIREFIGHTERS––give us your Departmental Read on this. There's a lot on line; what's accurate? Ammo in Fire Ammo in Fire II what is true––dunno: |
| I have disposed of thousands of rounds of ammunition in burn barrels. Drop ammo in 55 gallon drum, add diesel, and light. The rounds will not penetrate through the barrel and may dent it slightly as the heat of the fire ignites the smokeless powder in the ammunition. There is no containment of the pressure of the round and therefore the bullet is not propelled in any direction with force. Just my .02 |
Doesn't anyone watch Mythbusters around here? 
Without the benefit of the heavy gun to hold it in place, there is nothing to allow significant pressure to build and, thereby, push the projectile. Further, outside of the chamber, the *bullet* becomes the heaviest component in most cases and, so, the *case* becomes the projectile. So, low velocity + light, unstable projectile = lousy penetration. Granted, you wouldn't want to be sitting on it when it cooks off, but while it might sound like it, you're not going to have bullets flying like it's the Battle of the Bulge. Besides, I'd hope that in the case of a house fire you'd be somewhere else before the ammo became the primary concern. Further, it's probably not a good idea to get too carried away sealing the ammo in anything to sturdy. If you go to a lot of trouble to restrain and contain the ammo, you could cause pressure to build to dangerous levels and risk creating an IED in your closet/basement/etc! 
EDIT: BTW, those cabinets are designed for flammables stored in sealed pressure vessels; they are an explosive hazzard on their own. The double walls provide some insulation and additional protection from spark, while the heavy contruction and built-in vents work together to contain an explosion (to a point) while releasing the pressure in a (more) controlled manner and direction. It should, no doubt, work for ammo storage, but it is probably overkill for all but the most paranoid ammo horder. |
But that's still probably overkill for me.
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Quoted:
If the (otherwise likable) guys at Mythbusters actually knew anything about guns, their reports would be easier to accept, but in this case they are correct. You MUST have it in a chamber for a round to "go off" in the conventional sense. That doesn't mean that ammo in a fire is benign by any means; I was stuck in my shop in the juncle because of a brush fire in Panama-brush that just happened to hide thousands of unused BLANK rounds which were a splinter hazard until the fire was out.
Doesn't anyone watch Mythbusters around here?
EDIT: BTW, those cabinets are designed for flammables stored in sealed pressure vessels; they are an explosive hazzard on their own. The double walls provide some insulation and additional protection from spark, while the heavy contruction and built-in vents work together to contain an explosion (to a point) while releasing the pressure in a (more) controlled manner and direction. It should, no doubt, work for ammo storage, but it is probably overkill for all but the most paranoid ammo horder. I agree that a flamables locker is the LAST thing you want to have ammo in in a fire. Very bad things could happen. VERY bad. Now let's look at storing ammon "in the basement." A traditional basement is a VERY GOOD place for ammo, even in a fire. The concrete foundation built into the soil stays at a relatively constant temperature year-round, and unless your basement is both finished out and a fire hazard itself, it should be the last part of the building to even become involved in a fire. Keep it stacked relatively low (so that it's under the level of the outside ground) and your basement should be a fine "bunker" to store your ammo in. Think about a standard explosives storage "igloo." It's a structure built into the ground, covered with soil; both are to provide a consistent temperature and reduce the risk of fire. (There are other structural considerations, but those are the two most applicable to this discussion.) |
| Ah the old ammo in a fire issue. Well I hate to tell you but the Myth busters were right on the one point. A bullet to attain the needed velocity to harm a person would have to be loaded in a weapon in the breech ready to go. However enough ammo or even worse reloading supplies (powder) can make for a bad day. There's nothing like being inside a place on fire and you start hearing bullets going off. I tend to worry more about LP tanks, gas cans and the other ton 'o crap we all have in our garage. A good safe is the way to go. Most Fire departments will have a serious house fire out within 30 minutes. If it's not out it most likely will burn out within an hour anyways. Most good safes have a 2 hour fire rating. |
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Quoted:
I have disposed of thousands of rounds of ammunition in burn barrels. Drop ammo in 55 gallon drum, add diesel, and light. The rounds will not penetrate through the barrel and may dent it slightly as the heat of the fire ignites the smokeless powder in the ammunition. There is no containment of the pressure of the round and therefore the bullet is not propelled in any direction with force. Just my .02 Ill help you dispose of your ammuniton any time you need. Let me know and ill send you my address. |
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I have disposed of thousands of rounds of ammunition in burn barrels. Drop ammo in 55 gallon drum, add diesel, and light. The rounds will not penetrate through the barrel and may dent it slightly as the heat of the fire ignites the smokeless powder in the ammunition. There is no containment of the pressure of the round and therefore the bullet is not propelled in any direction with force. Just my .02 Sacrilege for sure.............Wish you had not burned it now at todays prices??? |
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Quoted:
I have disposed of thousands of rounds of ammunition in burn barrels. Drop ammo in 55 gallon drum, add diesel, and light. The rounds will not penetrate through the barrel and may dent it slightly as the heat of the fire ignites the smokeless powder in the ammunition. There is no containment of the pressure of the round and therefore the bullet is not propelled in any direction with force. Just my .02 why? oh why?
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Quoted:
Quoted:
I have disposed of thousands of rounds of ammunition in burn barrels. Drop ammo in 55 gallon drum, add diesel, and light. The rounds will not penetrate through the barrel and may dent it slightly as the heat of the fire ignites the smokeless powder in the ammunition. There is no containment of the pressure of the round and therefore the bullet is not propelled in any direction with force. Just my .02 why? oh why?It happens all the time in Iraq/Afghanistan with recovered/seized ammo from the bad guys. |
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Doesn't anyone watch Mythbusters around here?
Without the benefit of the heavy gun to hold it in place, there is nothing to allow significant pressure to build and, thereby, push the projectile. Further, outside of the chamber, the *bullet* becomes the heaviest component in most cases and, so, the *case* becomes the projectile. So, low velocity + light, unstable projectile = lousy penetration. So true, yet sad as I learned this first hand from a dumb ass friend from my teen years who thought it would be funny to through a .22 round in a fire without telling me. To make it short, the case flew out and hit me under my eye causing a nice little cut; beyond lucky this didn't hit my eye. |
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There was an article in Firehouse Magazine a few years ago where they addressed the issue from a firefighters point of view - Is there any danger to a firefighter when there is ammunition in the house ?
Their tests confirmed that there is no danger to firefighters wearing standard firefighting gear when the ammo is stored loose or in origional boxes. The ammo just pops off and the bullet has little velocity. However, loaded weapons will cook off and fire the bullets at full speed - and can kill firefighters or the home occupants. - a retired firefighter |
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As a former VFF, I worried far more about a one lb propane cylinder than ammo. Bulk powder, much like propane or a can of gas would be a real threat. Loaded long guns are unlikely to be a hazard, loaded pistols will typical shoot in the horizontal plan and are dangerious. They only time I was really worried was a police car fire where a shotgun was in a horiziontal position against the cage in a gun lock. The officer involved stated it was loaded (he really meant the magazine.). We cleared everyone from that side of the vehicle, except for two LEOs who claimed we had no right to move them. They moved after 30 seconds or so of contemplation.
We ended up having to cut the gun out with a torch. The lock needs power to release, and all the wiring was burned up I wanted to inspect the magazine tube, but didn't get the chance. |
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What about shielding it with sand bags? If you live in a cold area, they sell bags of sand for the bed of a truck. Perhaps throw some sand bags all around the ammo cans, and I would think that might help a little bit. I mean...is sand fireproof? Yes. Is it cheap? Well, its a lot cheaper than the ammo that you stocked up on.
I don't know. Just throwing out a possibility. |
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As I look at my dozens and dozens and dozens of filled ammo cans all over my basement, I'm kind of concerned about fire safety. Has anyone ever thought of something like this to "shield" stored ammo? http://www.eagle-mfg.com/flammable.html Any opinions on this issue are greatly appreciated. Surely I cant be the only one worried at least a little bit about this. No fire rating on those things, none mentioned, used to keep flam. liquids away from ignition sources.
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what if they firefighters refuse to enter due to the noise, your house burns down and the insurance company uses this as an excuse not to insure you? Or am I too paranoid? You're being WAY too paranoid. The only time I've ever heard anything cook off in a fire was in a grass fire with no other sounds present. In a house fire, you can't hear squat for the sound of the fire. Ammunition popping due to the heat won't sound significantly different from timbers popping due to pitch pockets burning. Take a deep breath and stop worrying about this issue-it's a NON-issue. |
Gun Powder makes for some awsome lawn fertilizer! An acquantice of mine put some on his lawn after his wife filed for divorce. He poured it spelling out some explitives and after a couple of weeks, there in DARK green were the letters "$%^*&^&%#@". Stayed there for several months. Spread it evenly to avoid this.
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