Exploding ammunition

[TommyRuss 6]

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/03/exploding_ammunition_prolongs.html

[Malsua 1,422]

Three handguns, a shotgun and rifle were turned over the police.

 

Have a fire, lose your firearms?

[DevsAdvocate 112]

Three handguns, a shotgun and rifle were turned over the police.

 

Have a fire, lose your firearms?

 

Yeah, I don't get that.

 

Also, exploding small arms ammo isn't really THAT dangerous. The fragments wouldn't even go through heavy cardboard if they weren't contained within a chamber/barrel.

[AtlanticCounty 0]

What are the exact laws for ammo storage? In a safe?

[Guest]

What are the exact laws for ammo storage? In a safe?

 

 

in NJ? i dont think you are even required to own a safe..

[coldsolderjoint 84]

I've been to fires where the firefighters have turned over a few hunting rifles to the police. I was there in a medical capacity, so I've only overseen it and didn't know any of the finer details, but the homeowner nor the home was in any condition to secure the guns, so I suspect it was only for safekeeping until they were claimed. Without knowing more details, I wouldn't jump to conclusions about the police confiscating them.

[tony357 386]

yes i read that the homeowner was treated for smoke inhalation, so maybe he could not secure them.

 

i would not mind if it were done at local dept and could be picked up at later date.. would not have to worry about someone stealing them if home was not secured.

[Guest]

ammo did not explode - it just went pop - when ray's sport shop was on the other side of rte# 22 it burned to the ground - the only thing that exploded were the scuba tanks + spray cans - the american rifleman had a long articule with pictures at the time - loaded ammo that popped did not even penetrate the cardboard containers - blackpowder was confined in their wooden storage boxes - there used to be a fire training film about this -

[Jon 264]

Here's an interesting thread about the subject: http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/inde ... 78523.html

 

Seems like the consensus is that if the ammo is stored in the factory cardboard/plastic containers there is no concern of ammo being dangerous. If you store it in steel containers where the casing has a strong surface to detonate against, then you have problems.

[USN88 0]

As a Firefighter . We Give any firearm found durring a fire or overhaul to the local pd so they can secure the gun durring the operation and i have seen them give them rite back to the homeowner if the are able too. Also have been in a fire when a brick of .22 went off . I dont care what you think if it is dangerous or not but when you hear them going off you get your arse out cause you do not know what they are.

[GRIZ 3,369]

the only thing that exploded were the scuba tanks

 

If the safety in the valve works correctly they would just blow the air out thru the valve. I had one fail in my Mother's basement, it blew stuff around but no explosion. Scuba tanks are designed to split if the safety or valve doesn't go and the big danger there would be all that air added to the fire. Mythbusters did a thing where they sent a cylinder much larger than a scuba tank through a brick wall when the valve was knocked off. Not that I'd like to get in way of a scuba tank with the valve knocked off. Newer tanks hold higher pressures so I imagine more potential of damage.

 

There was a lot of ammo in the WTC when it went down and I saw some of it. All lead bullets melted out of the case and left the primer intact. Rounds going off don't pose a lot of danger as the pressure is released very early and there is no barrel to contain it. The velocity doesn't get very high and although it can break skin (you only need 4-500 fps) the big danger is if your eyes are unprotected.

 

I saw ammo cook off more than once in Vietnam but small arms ammo does travel far. It sounds scary though. The most dangerous military ammo was powder for 155s, 175s, and 8" artillery. If the powder gets hot enough to cook off it blows the cap off the powder canister and creates a very unguided rocket. I witnessed this on more than one occasion.

 

I believe fire codes require a wooden magazine for smokeless powder commercially. That way if the powder goes if will just split the wood instead of making shrapnel.