Ammo storage - XDTalk Forums - Your HS2000/SA-XD Information Source!

tomk · 06-30-2006, 07:55 AM

I got to thinking about the ammo I have stored here at the house, specifically about what would happen in the event of a house fire. I assume ammo can be set off by a fire but is it dangerous to fire fighters, for example, if it goes off outside of a chamber? Anything to be done about it?

boater1217 · 06-30-2006, 08:08 AM

Yes it is dangerious. If you are only talking a few rounds, I wouldn't be too concerned but if you are like me and have several hundred on hand at any one time then the firemen would have a cause for worry. Best thing to do is to put it in a safe. At least the cook offs would be some what contained. Also if you are present when they arrive, I'm sure they would appreciate knowing about the ammo.

InspectorNugger · 07-01-2006, 05:02 PM

Contrary to popular belief, ammo does not go shooting off in all direction like it does in the movies. It can combust and add fuel to a fire but no one is getting shot over it. Without the confines of a chamber to build up pressure, it is not a big deal. I'll see if I can find the video I used to have, put together by SAAMI, showing what happens in a fire (Sporting Ammunition and the Firefighter- Item #250 - Nearly one million rounds of ammunition were subjected to ten different tests–from open burn conditions to tightly confined burn conditions–to examine what happens to sporting ammunition exposed to severe impact and fire. This video is recommended as an educational tool for fire departments and explains how firefighters face no danger from sporting ammunition in a fire when protected by standard turn-out gear.) They sell a printed publication (Facts about Sporting Ammunition Fires -Item #204) that discusses this same thing (the video is better

). That being said, I usually store all of my stuff inside the gun safe, which is fire-proof and secure.

**QCATrader** · 07-01-2006, 06:15 PM

Above is a good answer. A friend of mine owns a gun shop that basically burned to the ground. My son-in-law was one of the firemen on the scene. 50 Caliber cases that exploded now reside on a bookcase in my office.

Yes, they pop and I suppose they could do some harm, but again, it's not like they're coming our of a barrel. There simply is very little pressure.

Good question though...

The Knight Of Light · 07-01-2006, 06:40 PM

There like little tiny hand grenades. Shrapnel every where. get yourself some ammo cans at the local surplus store and that will keep the shrapnel to a minimum.

**beardman2** · 07-01-2006, 09:25 PM

wouldn't that act more like a bomb?

The Knight Of Light · 07-01-2006, 09:28 PM

You would be suprised how much ammo cans can take.

**einheit 13** · 07-02-2006, 04:51 PM

Store them 'bullets' down if you're scared.....I do...I have ALOT of ammo stashed in surplus cans and unopend spam cans.

The Knight Of Light · 07-02-2006, 05:15 PM

What the heck is bullets down gonna do?

CyberOtaku · 07-02-2006, 05:48 PM

The danger of ammunition cook-off would be irrelevant compared the the danger of just being in a burning building. If the rounds did explode the slug wouln't do much of anything, the only projectiles would come from the brass. Even those would lack the mass and velocity to likely penetrate the fireman's protective gear.

06-30-2006, 07:55 AM	#1
tomk XDTalk 100 Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Port Orange, Fl Posts: 111	Ammo storage I got to thinking about the ammo I have stored here at the house, specifically about what would happen in the event of a house fire. I assume ammo can be set off by a fire but is it dangerous to fire fighters, for example, if it goes off outside of a chamber? Anything to be done about it? __________________ XD9SC Walther P22

07-01-2006, 06:40 PM	#5
The Knight Of Light XDTalk 5K Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Omaha, Nebraska Posts: 8,655 Blog Entries: 12	There like little tiny hand grenades. Shrapnel every where. get yourself some ammo cans at the local surplus store and that will keep the shrapnel to a minimum. __________________ No Matter Where You Go, There You Are. USPSA #L3077 What a great number!!! http://theknightoflight.blogspot.com/ Creator of TOP 'O' THE PAGE!!! Moose Fight

07-01-2006, 09:25 PM	#6
beardman2 XDTalk 4K Member Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 4,948	wouldn't that act more like a bomb? __________________ - He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from opposition; for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that will reach himself. ~Thomas Paine I will not be involved with the dreams of angry men. Founding Documents Freedom isn't free: http://www.anysoldier.com

07-01-2006, 09:28 PM	#7
The Knight Of Light XDTalk 5K Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Omaha, Nebraska Posts: 8,655 Blog Entries: 12	You would be suprised how much ammo cans can take. __________________ No Matter Where You Go, There You Are. USPSA #L3077 What a great number!!! http://theknightoflight.blogspot.com/ Creator of TOP 'O' THE PAGE!!! Moose Fight

07-02-2006, 04:51 PM	#8
einheit 13 XDTalk 5K Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Virginia, C.S.A. Posts: 5,495	Store them 'bullets' down if you're scared.....I do...I have ALOT of ammo stashed in surplus cans and unopend spam cans. __________________ Die Erde wird das sanfte erben! (the earth shall inherit the meek!) “It is the lack of will power, and not the lack of arms which render us incapable of offering any serious resistance.”

06-30-2006, 08:08 AM	#2
boater1217 XDTalk 100 Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Oxford, MS Posts: 174	Yes it is dangerious. If you are only talking a few rounds, I wouldn't be too concerned but if you are like me and have several hundred on hand at any one time then the firemen would have a cause for worry. Best thing to do is to put it in a safe. At least the cook offs would be some what contained. Also if you are present when they arrive, I'm sure they would appreciate knowing about the ammo. __________________ Springfield XD Service 9MM Sig Mosquito w/Red Dot Taurus 22 Auto Pocket Pistol S&W Chief\'s Special Remington 870 Enfield Mark III SA Black Stainless PX9152L Browning BPS 12 ga Upland Special

07-01-2006, 05:02 PM	#3
InspectorNugger XDTalk 100 Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Idaho Falls, ID Posts: 223	Contrary to popular belief, ammo does not go shooting off in all direction like it does in the movies. It can combust and add fuel to a fire but no one is getting shot over it. Without the confines of a chamber to build up pressure, it is not a big deal. I'll see if I can find the video I used to have, put together by SAAMI, showing what happens in a fire (Sporting Ammunition and the Firefighter- Item #250 - Nearly one million rounds of ammunition were subjected to ten different tests–from open burn conditions to tightly confined burn conditions–to examine what happens to sporting ammunition exposed to severe impact and fire. This video is recommended as an educational tool for fire departments and explains how firefighters face no danger from sporting ammunition in a fire when protected by standard turn-out gear.) They sell a printed publication (Facts about Sporting Ammunition Fires -Item #204) that discusses this same thing (the video is better ). That being said, I usually store all of my stuff inside the gun safe, which is fire-proof and secure.

07-01-2006, 06:15 PM	#4
QCATrader XDTalk 100 Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Iowa / Arizona Posts: 291	Above is a good answer. A friend of mine owns a gun shop that basically burned to the ground. My son-in-law was one of the firemen on the scene. 50 Caliber cases that exploded now reside on a bookcase in my office. Yes, they pop and I suppose they could do some harm, but again, it's not like they're coming our of a barrel. There simply is very little pressure. Good question though...

07-02-2006, 05:15 PM	#9
The Knight Of Light XDTalk 5K Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Omaha, Nebraska Posts: 8,655 Blog Entries: 12	What the heck is bullets down gonna do? __________________ No Matter Where You Go, There You Are. USPSA #L3077 What a great number!!! http://theknightoflight.blogspot.com/ Creator of TOP 'O' THE PAGE!!! Moose Fight

07-02-2006, 05:48 PM	#10
CyberOtaku XDTalk 100 Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Lancaster, PA Posts: 441	The danger of ammunition cook-off would be irrelevant compared the the danger of just being in a burning building. If the rounds did explode the slug wouln't do much of anything, the only projectiles would come from the brass. Even those would lack the mass and velocity to likely penetrate the fireman's protective gear. __________________ Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity. - Hanlon's Razor Insofar as we believe in morality we pass sentence on existence. - Friedrich Nietzsche

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