doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Real Firefighters/House fires and Ammunition

When I had the big fire a year ago, all kinds of "good" people called the fire department to let them know that I most likely had ammo and powder in the house. The result was that they held back and I lost the entire main floor. Double gyproc contained the fire and it didn't escape despite 2200 degree temps. In the basement there was only slight smoke damage. The ammo and firearms escaped any damage due to being in a vault room with vault door. Later, in talking with the firefighters, they explained they usually aren't worried, but due to the number of calls, they became cautious. None of the "good" calllers had ever been in the house, but knew I had guns, so it had to be a "bad" place!!

We did an experiment when I was much younger because we had read about it in a magazine. Suspended rifle and pistol bullets inside a closed cardboard box with a can of sterno burning (had to vent the box to keep sterno lit) under the ammo. All the ammo went off, nothing exited through the cardboard.

Think about it. Ignite a chain of smokeless powder and watch how slowly it burns. Requires containment in a pressurized chamber to cause rapid burn required to generate high pressures for firing a bullet. I think the primer is the only part of the ammo which generates any significant force without being in a chamber and I was somewhat surprised but the box contained even that reaction. What we recovered was the distorted brass casings with a hole ripped in the side of the brass. All but one had all the parts still attached to the brass.

A word to the Wise is Sufficient. Anyone who sits and smokes over an open container of gasoline is "UnWise". Nuff Said.
An open flame is not required to ignite any fuel, only that its temp is brought to its ignition temperture in the presence of both the fuel & oxygen. He was simply geting away with it on the basis the mix did not contain enough gas at the cigarette as he smoked & was of course too rich down at the container. It was simply passing through the proper ratio mix too quickly to raise it to ignition temp. The amazing part is that in all of those 8 yrs the mix never became rich enough up at the cigarette just as he inhaled real big & it glowed red. Result!! Flash!! Right in the Kisser.

Ron liked to smoke. He also had a large brass keychain with about 15 keys on it that he never, ever put down. It was always in his hand.

Ron and I used to ride our bikes about 25 miles a day, everyday.

One time Ron and I were riding bikes on an abandoned stretch of road. Ron was ahead of me by 40 or 50 feet. I saw Ron, appropo of nothing, stop all of a sudden, run over to the ditch, pick up a random stick, and start beating something that was lying on the road. When I got closer, I could see the something was a very large rattlesnake. It later measured out over 4 feet. The snake, initially agitated for 3 or 4 minutes, calmed down to the point of death.

Ron wrapped the snake around his seat post and continued on his way. Before, during, and after this entire incident, Ron's keychain never left his hand and he never stopped smoking his cig.

Geez that's nice GregSY:
So you friend hopped off his bike to beat a rattlesnake to death that posed no threat to him or anyone else? Now that's a real macho feat. Has anyone ever explained to you that snakes including posionous one are part of the environment and unless thay are a threat should be left alone. Perhaps you'd rather be overun with rats and other vermin which is their principle diet instead.
Jim

I was deer hunting once in a planted pine plantation with tree rows about 8 feet apart. A diamond-back rattler crawled about 20 feet from me across the row I was sitting on that stretched from one tree row to the next. Biggest rattler I've ever seen. I didn't bother it and waited till dark to walk out without a flashlight. I wondered where that rattler had crawled the whole way out of the woods...Geo

You know, I've often wondered that, in the event of a fire in my home, the last people I want to see would be, firefighters.
We live in a ground level ranch, with one or more windows in every room. There won't be any "dashing through the jaws of hell" stuff here, just go out the door or window.
When the firemen get here, they are going to cut a hole in the roof and pour water on everything. Who wants to clean that up? Few, if any of my possesions are fireproof, or, waterproof. Are they going to save my guns? Well, no. My computer? Probably not. The insulated wood structure of my home? Hmm.
I think I'd rather have the damn thing burn to the ground and start over. I'm guessing the results would be cleaner, and better, if not cheaper.
About the only entity that would wish to attempt to save anything would be my insurance company. Since they don't have to live in it, I'm guessing they don't care what's best, only what's cheapest. Firefighters put a lot on the line toward that notion, and I'm uncomfortable with that, too.
If everyone gets out OK, that will be more than good enough for me. Let the damn thing burn.
Best,
Ted

The bottom line is that firemen are NOT there to save your home but rather to protect the fire from spreading. Most will admit that. In my case and that of most I've seen, the firemen did more damage than the fire. The fire was contained by the gyproc until the firemen broke windows and opened doors, poured in water and later ripped the ceilings down. Being in April here, there was lots of snow on the roof. After the fire was over, there was a 6" dent in the snow from the heat after the ceilings were pulled down. Thousands of dollars of Eskimo carvings exploded when the cold water hit them!!

Shoot man, I thought we'd already covered the topic and settled once and for all that the only good snake is a dead one?

What I didn't tell you is Ron took that snake home, ate the meat, made a belt out of the skin, and hung the rattles from his rear view mirror. Only the hiss was wasted. Does that make it any better?