I am also a Firefighter and have been at three structures where ammo was cooking off. At one I estimate 3000 rounds of center fire went. Home owner had a big fire safe with about a dozen Thompson Contenders and they were OK even though the door was not fully closed.
It is interesting in that I have seen cases fail rupture but there was not enough force to eject the projectile from the case mouth! ! ! ! As others have pointed out this only happens on TV.
As Polar Express points out loaded weapons in a structure is what concerns me. CIP a buddy and me were at a cross roads store when a pumper from the department in that area went by running code. We ran out to our vehicle and radioed them to see what they had and they told us to "come on" so jumped in his truck and fell in behind them. My buddy had his turnouts in his truck but I did not so I stayed outside and fed line in for the interior attack.
I was in a burn building once and there was a mechanical industrial thermometer about four feet off the floor and I laid there and watched it max out at 800F at 4:00 and it kept going till it got around and hit the start pin at 8:00 which if accurate would have been about 1200F. I also had a Bullard Fire Dome Helmet Shied get hot enough to deform (ruined) and we were flat on the floor. Top of the helmet blistered.
To my surprise rifles and shotguns start appearing out of the smoke at the front door. There was about eight and every last one had a round in the chamber as I cleared them as I got them and went out and laid them on the ground with bolts/chambers open.
We did cook off tests at Aberdeen Proving Ground and we heated barrels to circa 400F and rounds would cook off in 8 to 10 seconds.
Based on this my center fire rifles are not stored with round in chamber as they are the most likely to get a round through a exterior wall where most handguns won't.
Smokeless propellant does not really concern me as much as propane cylinders and acetylene cylinders. We were at a structure was were approaching a back door when there was a explosion and a propane cylinder came by our heads. It was a camp stove size. Had it been a 20 lb it could have been much worse for us.
Black powder is a different ballgame. If I know there is black powder stored I have told my guys to not make entry.
There was a incident out west about forty years back where a guy had black powder stored in a Tread container made for long guns. On the outside there was a sign that said "Use no flame to open this container". There was an explosion and all that was found was a section of scalp with black curly hair and the back third of the structure was gone. It was not the owner's so it was surmised this subject broke in and thought guns were in the gun safe and proceeded to open it and got his reward.
How dangerous would a revolver be with a loaded but open cylinder?
How dangerous would a revolver be with a loaded but open cylinder?
Haha right? WooowwwsaThe amount of ammo destroyed there makes me want to cry.
Blasting caps, bulldozers???? Wow.