Ammunition Storage and Fire Safey

**RemShooter** · January 3rd, 2010, 02:37 PM

With all due deference to the MythBusters (they actually did a pretty good job on this one), I would recommend you check with your local fire department to find out if they have looked into this. If they haven't, you can direct them to contact the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI). SAAMI has done testing with VERY large quantities of ammunition in realistic fire scenarios to determine the level of threat to firefighters.

While the original testing and video was produced many years ago, the testing was recently repeated and a new video prepared. If you go to therir website: http://www.saami.org/ you will find a link on the home page to a preview of the video.

The long and short of it is that, yes, ammunition will "cook-off" in a fire. Firefighters in typical "turn-out gear" are sufficiently protected from the low-energy projectiles to mitigate any danger.

Smokeless powder presents a different issue - it burns FASTER when confined. The containers are designed to allow for the venting of pressure to prevent its build up. Adding additional confinement effective defeats the efforts of the packaging designers to create a "fail-safe" package and I would not recommend putting it in anything like ammo cans or safes. (In fact, this packaging MUST be subjected to an open burn (or "bonfire") test, witnessed by an independent expert, before the Department of Trnasportation will issue a classification to allow its shipment by common carrier. A detonation is a failure of the test.) Leave it in a place free of confinement and able to burn openly. It will burn fast, but without the creation of a shockwave.