where to store your ammo for fire prevention / fighting?

[e9999]

this wildfire situation we are in made me think again about the ammo storage issues. I do remember reading in a few places that firefighters will likely back off and not fight a structure fire if there is ammo popping off in the fire. Not that it's necessarily very dangerous especially if the ammo is in military steel boxes but it would be a major bummer if a small fire in the corner of your attached garage with some popping would let them to leave the fire to engulf the rest of the house. I'm not talking about a couple of boxes but rather the large quantities that some folks have on hand for matches etc.

There are of course fire codes that one has to obey, for powder in particular. The problem with leaving the stuff outside in a detached shed is that these can get pretty hot in the summer and that's not good for smokeless powder.

Any thoughts from firefighters on this, especially the back off part?

[venpick]

The fire proof safes are rated for a x amount of time at at x temperature. The bigger the $ the longer the X. unless its really going BOOM or unless the entire place is ablaze we are g0in to kick doors and spray water. If firefighters are standing in your ammo closet im betting its soaking wet at the time and not currently exploding. We try to avoid hazards like when the Remington factory is on fire but the average home is not the same kind of threat. exploding ammo does not travel long distances unless your storing tank shells. small explosi0ns and popping are normal in average house fires and the size of the fire and the resources available are going to determine if they go offense or defense on your home.

[3DAMAN!]

We dug a somewhat large hole in the corner of our barn. Then buried my grandmothers old freezer.The freezer holds a dozen 50cal. and about a half dozen of the larger rocket type mil spec ammo cans. Plus a few smaller items that needs to be kept from theives. Not every thing in it is ammo.
It is covered up with planks and cow shit now but is very easy to access.

[e9999]

the burying idea is also great for keeping the temperature relatively constant, I guess. Not as practical for those in more urban areas, unfortunately.

Ven, sounded like you're a firefighter. So you mean most would not hold back cuz you hear a bunch of ammo cooking off and popping in a limited fire, then?

(edited for spelling)

[shep]

Originally Posted by 3DAMAN!

We dug a somewhat large hole in the corner of our barn. Then buried my grandmothers old freezer.The freezer holds a dozen 50cal. and about a half dozen of the larger rocket type mil spec ammo cans. Plus a few smaller items that needs to be kept from theives. Not every thing in it is ammo.
It is covered up with planks and cow **** now but is very easy to access.

That is awesome! Go Wolverines!

[venpick]

I am a firefighter and its my experience that alot of the time we have no idea whats in the home about to go boom. Like I mentioned earlier we look at how big the fire is and how much water and man power we have and what kind of damage the home has had from the fire. Usually, the distance of the straight stream nozzle cools off most exploding things far enough away that your not standing on top of it. most ammo does not do much damage Unlike acetylene bottles and others that dont give much warning before they go rocketing through the walls, ceiling, or what ever is in the way, traveling some distance before comming to a stop. Its kind of a sketchy thought when its all over and the smoke clears and you can actually see how close you were standing to those things. (you would really be suprised what people store in the living room.) Unless the home owner is there and saying "hey thats where i store my TNT" we are probably going to be on a hand line spraying water. realistically how much ammo do you have? A few bangs are not going to stop us but if its a constant roar of exploding shells and it levels half of the building we are not going in.

[e9999]

Originally Posted by venpick

I am a firefighter and its my experience that alot of the time we have no idea whats in the home about to go boom. Like I mentioned earlier we look at how big the fire is and how much water and man power we have and what kind of damage the home has had from the fire. Usually, the distance of the straight stream nozzle cools off most exploding things far enough away that your not standing on top of it. most ammo does not do much damage Unlike acetylene bottles and others that dont give much warning before they go rocketing through the walls, ceiling, or what ever is in the way, traveling some distance before comming to a stop. Its kind of a sketchy thought when its all over and the smoke clears and you can actually see how close you were standing to those things. (you would really be suprised what people store in the living room.) Unless the home owner is there and saying "hey thats where i store my TNT" we are probably going to be on a hand line spraying water. realistically how much ammo do you have? A few bangs are not going to stop us but if its a constant roar of exploding shells and it levels half of the building we are not going in.

good to know.

Hadn't thought about the bottles besides propane. Would a non-flammable gas bottle (like CO2) be an issue? If there is a safety valve, it should just vent out no?

[venpick]

yea most of the non flammable ones just go WOOOOSHHHHHHH. it can be enough to make you pee your turnouts.

[Waorani]

Originally Posted by venpick

exploding ammo does not travel long distances unless your storing tank shells. small explosi0ns and popping are normal in average house fires and the size of the fire and the resources available are going to determine if they go offense or defense on your home.

Same response I got from some local AL firefighters a couple of years ago. Exploding ammo not viewed as a major issue.

[sirenmoses]

I think that ya'll are talking apples & oranges.

Your question is: in a WILDFIRE, will rounds popping off cause firefighters to back off my property?

The answers you are getting are: in a STRUCTURE fire (ie: house fire), firefighters find out you have ammo after it's dripping wet.

Having fought, and continuing to fight, both types of fire, my thought is: Yes, if firefighters hear rounds coming from your house they will move on. For your house to get hot enough for that to happen, it's gone anyway.

[deleted much longer answer about types and levels of 'firefighters']

Thanks for thinking about our safety!


PS: I'm grooving on the freezer!

[johnbill]

For me, if there's ammo actively popping off in your garage/barn, I'm not going in there. And I'm not gonna let anybody on my squad go in either. I don't know what's in there, how much is in there, what it's in, etc. And I'm probably not gonna trust what you say in that regard, cause you're freakin out on account of your house being on fire. (I'm on a small rural department, though, and we know a lot of our neighbors. Helps to know who's got a level head in your district.) We will, however, having provided for our own safety, do everything we can from the outside until it cools down enough to go in.

If I were you, I would go ask your fire department. Call their info number and get ahold of the marshal/inspector, or if you're in the sticks like me, get ahold of an officer or chief. We love shootin bull, and we love getting to know the folks in our district. And that way, when we show up at your place for a fire (heaven forbid), we know you, and we know what we're about to get into.

I personally love the freezer in a hole idea. I'd be pretty comfortable going into that. Seems good and tough/safe.

[johnbill]

And I'm with sirenmoses: if a wildland fire is causing rounds to pop off in your barn, it just became a structure fire. If there's fire around your place, and you have defensible space, then hell yeah. We'll get in there and hose er down with some foam etc. No sweat.