Another garage fire

[softailgarage]

Must be the season. After reading 2 different threads on members garage fires, I woke up yesterday morning to the sounds of sirens. A neighbor's garage fully engulfed with ammo exploding. Nice older couple, he had the garage set up for woodworking. By the afternoon, going back and talking to him, pulled out in the driveway was a bandsaw, lathe and 2 shapers, destroyed. The house tagged "unsafe" and a massive hole in the roof above the untouched living room where firefighters, thinking the whole house was involved ventilated. They don't know how the fire started, it's still under investigation. Sad, really sad. Yesterday, while at Home Depot I picked up a 10lb rechargeable fire extinguisher. I already have 4 smaller ones in the garage, but figured this wouldn't hurt.

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/may/18/fire-oceanside-garage-ammunition-house/

http://www.cbs8.com/story/25548749/garage-fire-displaces-2-people-in-oceanside

http://fox5sandiego.com/2014/05/18/oceanside-garage-bursts-into-flames/#axzz32BGDOwTC

 

[Fcvapor05]

Ouch.

This is why I keep ammo in a flame proof (ok, resistant...) safe.

 

[Garage Junky]

A fire at the abode or garage is one of my worst fears. Also this is making me rethink my ammo storage strategy (actually there isn't one).

 

[Capt Chrysler]

Cool and dry ammo is happy ammo!

Capt. Chrysler

 

[Bigredball90]

This is why I will have fire sprinklers in my garage, cheap insurance.

 

[LifeLongWNYer]

I'm a hunter and a volunteer firefighter. I've heard several instructors say that ammo exploding in a a fire isn't as bad as it sounds. In a firearm, the bullet in the firing chamber contains the gas from the burning power and since there is only one way to go, ( down the barrel, ) the combustion gas propels the bullet with great speed.

With an uncontained shell, ( NOT in a firearm ) there is nothing to channel and direct the combustion gas, so as soon as the bullet leaves the cartridge, the gas rapidly dissipates and the bullet only is propelled a few feet before it loses all it's energy.

Now.... While I heard that on several occasions, I've never been to a fire in which ammo was exploding, so I've never seen how it really behaves. While I wouldn't want to go into a structure with exploding ammo in it, I wouldn't necessarily run to the next county either.



.

 

[southalabama]

I know the mechanics behind exploding ammo but it's unnerving to listen to exploding ammo and not want to look for cover.

Interested to know the cause of the fire.

 

[nicksnothereman]

Must be the season. After reading 2 different threads on members garage fires, I woke up yesterday morning to the sounds of sirens. A neighbor's garage fully engulfed with ammo exploding. Nice older couple, he had the garage set up for woodworking. By the afternoon, going back and talking to him, pulled out in the driveway was a bandsaw, lathe and 2 shapers, destroyed. The house tagged "unsafe" and a massive hole in the roof above the untouched living room where firefighters, thinking the whole house was involved ventilated. They don't know how the fire started, it's still under investigation. Sad, really sad. Yesterday, while at Home Depot I picked up a 10lb rechargeable fire extinguisher. I already have 4 smaller ones in the garage, but figured this wouldn't hurt.

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/may/18/fire-oceanside-garage-ammunition-house/

http://www.cbs8.com/story/25548749/garage-fire-displaces-2-people-in-oceanside

http://fox5sandiego.com/2014/05/18/oceanside-garage-bursts-into-flames/#axzz32BGDOwTC

Sounds like an electrical fire. Did he leave the stuff plugged in and not surge protected or stripped?

That's the one thing I don't half-donkey, everything goes into a strip and/or when I'm done with it, it get's unplugged and the strip get's turned off. Anything that generates significant heat I leave outside or watch until it cools down. I don't leave battery stuff to recharge if I leave the house.

I got a lot of flammable stuff but my protocol has left me with no fires (same type of heat profile). Gotta be careful with fire if you don't insure your "personal" items (or even if you do; might not be replaceable at cost).

 

[sickjuice]

I'm a hunter and a volunteer firefighter. I've heard several instructors say that ammo exploding in a a fire isn't as bad as it sounds. In a firearm, the bullet in the firing chamber contains the gas from the burning power and since there is only one way to go, ( down the barrel, ) the combustion gas propels the bullet with great speed.

With an uncontained shell, ( NOT in a firearm ) there is nothing to channel and direct the combustion gas, so as soon as the bullet leaves the cartridge, the gas rapidly dissipates and the bullet only is propelled a few feet before it loses all it's energy.

Now.... While I heard that on several occasions, I've never been to a fire in which ammo was exploding, so I've never seen how it really behaves. While I wouldn't want to go into a structure with exploding ammo in it, I wouldn't necessarily run to the next county either.



.

Please watch this

I'm sick of hearing ammo in a fire is dangerous

 

[Wood'nMetal]

I've been in several house fires with exploding ammo. With all the other noise and heat, I didn't even notice! They have no velocity so they are relatively harmless, at least with small caliber rounds!

Aerosol paint and canned food are another story! I took a solid head shot from a can of peas one time!

 

[nehog]

I know the mechanics behind exploding ammo but it's unnerving to listen to exploding ammo and not want to look for cover.

Interested to know the cause of the fire.

Mythbusters did a show where they dumped about 50-100 rounds (22, 44 and 50 cal) on a hot fire. Nothing escaped with enough velocity to cause serious injury, but some might have been painful had it struck someone.

Which shows why storing in a strong steel box is useful, but perhaps not mandatory.

 

[kf4zht]

While i was a firefighter I got hit with exploding ammo, both shotgun and centerfire. None of it has enough power to get through bunker gear.

Now if you store guns loaded the round in the chamber will leave with power. However this is usually only a couple rounds in most houses

 

[ratdoggy]

I was hoping the ammo in a fire thing is true. Since I run a scrapyard and am continually picking up live shells and bullets that idiots throw into our pile of iron. A payloader is always scraping that area and I don't want anyone hurt.

 

[rice rocket]

While i was a firefighter I got hit with exploding ammo, both shotgun and centerfire. None of it has enough power to get through bunker gear.

Now if you store guns loaded the round in the chamber will leave with power. However this is usually only a couple rounds in most houses

So a firefighter has to play Russian roulette and guess whether or not it's unchambered or not?

 

[Crazy Backyard Builder]

While i was a firefighter I got hit with exploding ammo, both shotgun and centerfire. None of it has enough power to get through bunker gear.

Now if you store guns loaded the round in the chamber will leave with power. However this is usually only a couple rounds in most houses

I never thought of it that way, or heard of anyone hit by any of it. Interesting stuff.

 

[NUTTSGT]

So a firefighter has to play Russian roulette and guess whether or not it's unchambered or not?

That basically happens at any house fire. You have no idea what the homeowner has stored and where.


The ammo doesn't bother me, I've heard rounds cook off a few times. The thought that bothers me is that we crawl in to stay low and some people keep a pistol, rifle or shotgun between the mattress and box spring. Once a mattress starts burning, it's usually a rocking fire in the bedroom. It's enough heat that it will cook off the round in the chamber and where are we ? If you keep a weapon in your mattress, get down on all fours tonight at bedtime, what is at head level ?

 

[LifeLongWNYer]

Great video, thanks for telling about it. I'm going to show it at an upcoming drill.



JBP



.

 

[softailgarage]

Interested to know the cause of the fire.

Still don't know. Monday morning the FD had a canopy set up with chairs, tables, firemen & guys in ATF windbreakers. Man, I sure hope this doesn't turn into some kind of anti-gun, anti-ammo game.

 

[henry29]

If the garage was used for woodworking, then it may have been an oil or stain soaked rag that ignited.

 

[Allenw]

A friend lost almost every thing in a wild fire a few weeks ago, they saved his old house and farm equipment. Lost his shop building with three generations of stuff in it, machine tools, specialty tools, who knows what all was in it. Old trucks, tractors, and equipment scattered around the place all gone. Maybe with a good lawyer he can prove the cause and get some kind of settlement.

 

[MadMechMaster]

That basically happens at any house fire. You have no idea what the homeowner has stored and where.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-explosive-discovery-made-in-evergreen-park-baseball-20140521,0,5114258.story

This guy in his 90's had 50 pounds of dynamite. They think he just forgot about it.

 

[9C1]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-explosive-discovery-made-in-evergreen-park-baseball-20140521,0,5114258.story

This guy in his 90's had 50 pounds of dynamite. They think he just forgot about it.

According to reports that box had been there for 60 years. I thought dynamite got unstable after a long time.

 

[JohnK007]

According to reports that box had been there for 60 years. I thought dynamite got unstable after a long time.

It can! What happens is the nitroglycerine sweats out from the binder material with age. What you are left with is a pool of pure nitro looking for a reason to go off.

 

[Lassen Forge]

Old Saying - If there's no sweat, then it's no sweat. They said the sticks "looked like new"... so it was probably still stable.

What gets me is the "gotta find criminal intent" mindset... "The 93-year-old is not facing charges, though police are still trying to find out why he and his friend had it." 50 years ago, Dynamite was a tool. People used it for demo work, popping stumps, ground loosening... any number of things. And it was relatively easy to get.

People (especially those in certain big cities) nowdays are hyperparanoid, thinking there's an evil terrorist lurking behind every tree. I've also heard chatter about how a lot of departments hope to uncover ammo or explosives to turn over to the DHS/FBI and get some DHS grant money and some "cool toys"... but I digress. (sorry!)

God forbid, when I was a little kid, my granddaddy had a borate and gold mine in Nevada; we'd go out and help for weekends during the summer. We used to drill, set and pack our own charges; because the little kid had small hands, guess who got to play with the bangsticks?