ok, which one of you RI guys....

[Palladin]

http://www.wpri.com/dpp/news/south-kingstown-fire-breaks-out-on-kingstown-road-


House fire sets off live AMMO inside
1 woman taken to hospital with burns on her feet
Updated: Thursday, 24 Dec 2009, 8:15 PM EST
Published : Thursday, 24 Dec 2009, 4:00 AM EST

SOUTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. (WPRI) - A man and a woman got out of their home safely after it caught fire late Wednesday night in South Kingstown. Firefighters faced a rare obstacle, and it wasn't just the cold.

The call came in just after 11 p.m. Wednesday as the fire raged through a two-story house on Kingstown Road in the Peacedale section of South Kingstown. A woman was able to escape the blaze with minor burns on her feet, while the man escaped unhurt.

"He got up, noticed that the house was on fire, got her out and called 911," said Union Fire District Chief Bob Perry.

While on scene, the man revealed that there was live ammunition in the house.

"We went in once, the shotgun shells started going off, we backed out, we gave it a few minutes. We stopped, we went back in, shotgun shells started going off again," continued Perry.

One firefighter described it as loud firecrackers going off.

"It was very nerve-wracking. It's a nerve-wracking job, it's very scary at times. You're hearing shotgun shells go off in a house, that's not always the best feeling," said firefighter Justin Burgess.

The fire chief also said a situation like this is very rare for the department to see.

The state fire marshal is still investigating the cause.

Copyright WPRI

 

[jenlynn724]

 

[C-pher]

I'm sure that bullets were flying and one the neighbors were hurt due to stray fire...

 

[zeppelinfromled]

When stray rounds go off in a fire, I'd imagine that there's no significant force to propel the bullet, right? There's a little explosion, sure, but there's no place for pressure to build up. So are rounds going off in a fire actually a hazard to people nearby? Unless the person is very close, I wouldn't think so.

 

[CRSIII]

There is a rather long thread about this very subject somewhere around here.

 

[Finalygotabeltfed]

"It was very nerve-wracking. It's a nerve-wracking job, it's very scary at times. You're hearing shotgun shells go off in a house, that's not always the best feeling," said firefighter Justin Burgess.
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Just shut the F up and get water on it!!

Jesus H Christ, its ammo not high explosives!!

 

[Metalhead]

No fire here thankfully. If I was a FF I would be more worried about the little propane tank that are also in the basement with the ammo.

 

[theGringo]

Watch out!

 

[cekim]

The firefighters union should be all over this - they shouldn't ever have to risk their lives just to do their job...

Er, um, ahh, wait just a minute...

So sad...

Hey, come to think of it - I feel a statistic coming on that shows that ammunition storage is correlated with low incidence of house fires...

Causality be damned - let's put ammo in every home

 

[vellnueve]

"It was very nerve-wracking. It's a nerve-wracking job, it's very scary at times. You're hearing shotgun shells go off in a house, that's not always the best feeling," said firefighter Justin Burgess.
---------------------------------------------

Just shut the F up and get water on it!!

Jesus H Christ, its ammo not high explosives!!

Would you like to run into the house? No? Then perhaps you shouldn't ridicule those who do.

We all know, intellectually, that ammunition poses minimal risk if not loaded in the chamber of a firearm, but having shot, even at low velocity, fly around while you're in a burning building trying to put out a fire can't be helpful. And this doesn't preclude the possibility that there were some firearms left in the house in Condition 1/2 and thus a cook-off of any chambered rounds could result in an actual discharge.

They may not be dangerous in and of themselves, especially since firefighters wear heavy clothing and eye protection, but having small explosions go off while you're trying to contain a fire can't be a great feeling for anyone, especially if the firefighters aren't versed in firearms and ammunition.

 

[hminsky]

A while back I threw the packing paper from a shipment of of .22 ammo into my fireplace, and there must have been a handful of loose rounds in it. It went off like popcorn inside my woodstove. It
didn't sound dangerous, but it would be nerve-wracking for sure with larger caliber stuff going off.

 

[FalArAk]

 

[cekim]

They may not be dangerous in and of themselves, especially since firefighters wear heavy clothing and eye protection, but having small explosions go off while you're trying to contain a fire can't be a great feeling for anyone, especially if the firefighters aren't versed in firearms and ammunition.

"Taste the soup..."
"Where's the spoon?"
"Ah hah!"

For my part, I don't take objection to the "discomfort" of the firefighters, so much as the tone of the report. There are any numbers of dangers in the home once it is on fire - many of which exceed (by leaps and bounds) the actual threat of overheated ammo (some of which make no sound at all). I won't question the bravery of those who go into burning structures for a living. My mockery is of the mentality behind that article and the implication that it makes...

If firefighters are not briefed in the various dangers in a burning home (including ammo), their training is incomplete and their trainers should be ashamed of themselves for putting firefighters at risk by sending them in unprepared.

 

[vellnueve]

I'm willing to bet that the tone to which you refer was written into the report by the reporter, taken somewhat out of context.

 

[Finalygotabeltfed]

Would you like to run into the house? No? Then perhaps you shouldn't ridicule those who do.

We all know, intellectually, that ammunition poses minimal risk if not loaded in the chamber of a firearm, but having shot, even at low velocity, fly around while you're in a burning building trying to put out a fire can't be helpful. And this doesn't preclude the possibility that there were some firearms left in the house in Condition 1/2 and thus a cook-off of any chambered rounds could result in an actual discharge.

They may not be dangerous in and of themselves, especially since firefighters wear heavy clothing and eye protection, but having small explosions go off while you're trying to contain a fire can't be a great feeling for anyone, especially if the firefighters aren't versed in firearms and ammunition.

Evidently you don't know what I've done for work for the past twentythree years.

I've been in alot more hazardous places than a house fire with a few rounds of ammo going off.

Small arms ammo is the least of my concerns when I go into a house fire, there's more risk on the firing range.
The 250 gal oil tank in the basement if its a basement fire, or the discarded half full propane tank under the debris in a dumpster fire or the magnesium wheel and engine parts and steering wheels that explode when water is applied are what concerns me.

 

[vellnueve]

Fair enough. I salute you for having the balls to do that job.

I still believe that if the firefighter was indeed showing fear, rather than being quoted out of context, that its understandable. Too many people in RI/CT/MA are raised with a natural fear of firearms, like they're some sort of boggeyman. I don't expect the average firefighter or trainer to know any differently. Like it or not, the average Southern New Englander believes that a round of ammunition caught in a fire will cause a massive house explosion.

 

[FiremanBob]

Mostly what flies around is shrapnel from the case. Not like a bullet, but not pleasant or risk-free. In full gear, I wouldn't worry about it too much. I was in a barn fire in which I was tasked with removing several boxes of ammo from inside.