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Indoor Range Explosion

unburnt powder build up + no sprinklers + ventilation system not linked to a fire alarm system so it keeps drafting the fire to fuel it =OH SHIT!

I don't know if those people made it out without significant injury. The woman shouldn't have been wearing open toe shoes, yikes. The Brazilian SWAT guys might have been ok because of wearing their gear except for exposed hands and faces.

higher resolution video here:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9vBzo8B-qA
 
That very strange. At 1:26 a fire begins to propagate in a line in front of the shooter on the left. It looks like it's coming up from underneath the floor, almost like a gas leak underneath the black platform. The blam it explodes.
 
nstassel said:
That very strange. At 1:26 a fire begins to propagate in a line in front of the shooter on the left. It looks like it's coming up from underneath the floor, almost like a gas leak underneath the black platform. The blam it explodes.
Click to expand...
+1
That’s what it seemed to happen to me as well.
 
@1:26 I think an ember from the shotgun fire touched off powder between the rubber mats on the floor. Hit the flash point for the mat material causing it to ignite, ventilation system fueled it with a blast of air, fire lept to the overhead structure touching off the powder at the ceiling which then backdrafted like a motherf***er to all the other unburnt powder and acoustical insulation. If you watch closely that entire line of rubber mat goes up fast and the fire shoots to the right first along the leading edge where the most powder would build up from the firing line.

On the Youtube version slow it down to .25 time and you'll see it more clearly.
 
I saw a similar thing about 25 years ago. A pepper popper at an indoor match broke, and someone had the brilliant idea to do an on the spot repair with an arc welder. Add in foam baffles on the side of the range to reduce sound reflection, and it was a setup for a fire. Fortunately, the club had a fire extingisher handy and was able to put out the fire before professional assistance was needed.
 
Is it just me, or can you see powder buildup on the lower shelf of the "benches" on the line. If that dark area is unburnt powder, there is quite a bit of it to be visible on camera. If there is that much there, then there is probably as much in/on the mats just ahead of the line.

That was either one marathon session, or no one sweeps that place out.
 
We had a "minor" fire at my club last summer on the indoor range. The cement floor has a small "trough" where the floor meets the wall. During a bowling pin shoot it suddenly caught on fire. Fire extinguishers were used and it was put out with very minimal damage to the range. Smoke damage mainly that had to be cleaned up. We ensure that the trough and beems inside the range are thoroughly swept out monthly now.
 
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the instructor stopped the guy at the top of the screen and had him put his eyes and ears on before he started shooting the shotgun. particularly good catch in this case.
 
nstassel said:
That very strange. At 1:26 a fire begins to propagate in a line in front of the shooter on the left. It looks like it's coming up from underneath the floor, almost like a gas leak underneath the black platform. The blam it explodes.
Click to expand...
There is an area of wooden flooring in front of the line. My guess based on what happened with an unberned poweder fire at my club is that there is a ton of unburned powder built up in those cracks and under the boards. Takes only one good spark to get that going and it looks like the fire started out of those cracks.

A good number of indoor rangers experience powder fires like this. Pistols don't burn every grain of powder with they discharge. Over time the powder builds up. In the corners, on beams and in stationary target holders. After our fire the corners, beams, and troughs are swept monthly.
 
Someone is obviously not cleaning that place very well, if at all. Ventilation looks like shit, too, given the haze of shit in front of the camera, although the lens is probably just dirty....
 
This happened at Glock once too, and at least one other gun manufacturer I can't remember offhand. They just test guns all day and nobody really pays attention... and then eventually, over time, enough buildup is left around that it can ignite....

-Mike
 
whacko said:
There is an area of wooden flooring in front of the line. My guess based on what happened with an unberned poweder fire at my club is that there is a ton of unburned powder built up in those cracks and under the boards. Takes only one good spark to get that going and it looks like the fire started out of those cracks.

A good number of indoor rangers experience powder fires like this. Pistols don't burn every grain of powder with they discharge. Over time the powder builds up. In the corners, on beams and in stationary target holders. After our fire the corners, beams, and troughs are swept monthly.
Click to expand...

As I recall, BR&P has a company hose down the floors (all concrete) in both indoor ranges weekly. Don't know if they do the walls (fire-retardant and sound-deadening foam) as well. Good way to avoid those kinds of disasters.
 
drgrant said:
Someone is obviously not cleaning that place very well, if at all. Ventilation looks like shit, too, given the haze of shit in front of the camera, although the lens is probably just dirty....
Click to expand...
Indoor ranges should be cleaned top to bottom regularly. That unburned powder settles everywhere.
 
For all the guys that thought it was natural gas or something else......I googled it and Reddit has 3 articles that say it was unburned powder. This issue is more common than most people think. Those indoor ranges need to be cleaned regularl or......poof!
 
CoastieRon said:
I saw this earlier. My question is:

What police department is this so I can stay the f away from that city.
Click to expand...

I thought it was a range in Brazil.
Watch what happens at 1:25 in the video above. This is reported to have occurred in Brazil. No further information. I think the NRA is going to need a new mantra, “Guns don’t start fires, people do.”
Click to expand...
 
Waher said:
@1:26 I think an ember from the shotgun fire touched off powder between the rubber mats on the floor. Hit the flash point for the mat material causing it to ignite, ventilation system fueled it with a blast of air, fire lept to the overhead structure touching off the powder at the ceiling which then backdrafted like a motherf***er to all the other unburnt powder and acoustical insulation. If you watch closely that entire line of rubber mat goes up fast and the fire shoots to the right first along the leading edge where the most powder would build up from the firing line.

On the Youtube version slow it down to .25 time and you'll see it more clearly.
Click to expand...
I think this is correct. I saw something similar a couple of years ago at an indoor range. However, in that case, it was a track hanging from the ceiling that had apparently collected enough power to ignite when a compensated pistol was in use. It was pretty exciting for a minute or two!.
 

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