What happens if you throw bullets in a fire

If you throw a live round into fire, nothing is going to ignite the primer — there is no striker in a campfire. However, gunpowder will eventually reach the temperature of ignition and will light up causing those hot expanding gasses to appear.

Now, it is important to note that you should never ever throw any live round in fire or in any kind of extremely hot place. It is a very stupid thing to do, which may cause significant injuries to people surrounding the fire. Having said that, most likely nothing significant would happen. Surely, the gunpowder would explode and there would be those expanding gases, but the bullet is highly unlikely to leave the case.

This is because those normal cases are rather thin. Expanding gases would escape through a path of least resistance, which would be the wall of the case.

In other words, a new hole on the side of the round would appear, but, most likely, the bullet would remain in place. But why is that? Why exploding gunpowder does not tear a new one on the side of the round when it is fired from a gun? The barrel of the gun provides additional support for the walls of the round.

When a bullet is fired from a gun, the path of least resistance is actually through the bullet. That is why modern guns are designed with tight tolerances and significant heft to their frames to withstand the pressure exerted to the sides of the cartridge.

But still, you should never do that. In Episode 85 of the television show "Myth Busters," the danger of putting bullets in a fire was tested by placing. All of the bullets fired when they got hot, but none of them had sufficient force to shoot through the oven door. By contrast, bullets fired from a gun at an oven door went right through it. A similar test was performed on an open flame with the same results — bullets dropped into the fire went off but were not dangerous.

When bullets are stored in a metal ammunition case or a metal box, they can become dangerous in case of a fire. The reason is that the exploding bullets — ordinarily not particularly dangerous on their own — will cause the sides of the metal case to expand and eventually rip apart under the pressure. Other explosive household items such as propane canisters and aerosol cans often pose hazards for firefighters, however. Replies to This Discussion Permalink Reply by Doug on April 8, at pm How about finding a hand grenade, during overhaul, in a home that went up in flames?

Yes, we really did find a hand grenade. And the clip was still attached, so it wasn't just being used as a paperweight. While I cant speak for every station in the state of georgia I can speak for my station.

Of the last 4 structure fires we have been on 3 had exploding ammunition. As saftey on all of those scenes and as a firefighter Im not going to lie it scared the crap out of me. I instantly got on the radio and let all units both on scene and in bound know of the danger. Sure some people will argue that we have a dangerous job and they are right however, bases on condition, construction, etc.

I have yet to figure out how to anticipate exploding rounds from a structure fire. To make matters worse at one scene the homeowners were adimate that there were NO weapons or ammunition in the home. HA HA not only did we pull our crews back from the house at one point because so many rounds were going of, we found handguns in the home that had serial numbers scratched off.

The homeowners gave us a hard time about how we needed to recover thier valuables safe etc and fast, yet when the handguns came out nobody wanted to claim those. I treat every structure as one that would have weapons and ammo inside. That's another reason to stay low, I mean the smoke will keep you pretty low but ammo from a gun would be waist high or higher in most situations.

So I just stay low and hope for the best in those situations. One of these days it may bite me in the butt but I got a lot of butt for it to bite me in so Something else to keep in mind are, homeowners that reload their own ammunition. Certain Black powders could be another issue that can be hazardous! Goes with the territory. Let me see, propane, paint, varnish, hairspray, gas cans, tires, batteries, refrigerator compressors, solvent, paint stripper, beer kegs, dive tanks, booby traps gotta love those!

Biggest hit I took was a 20 lb propane tank, about 5 feet away. Now THAT was a surprise! Pulled a nice well, at one time loaded and ready to go! Fortunately, it was pointed towards the neighbors house, and not at us entering the building. Had rounds come at us one time, but there was a guy behind the gun. Firefighters should not leave even the smallest amount of ammunition behind after a structure fire, especially after since it has been exposed to heat.

The unpredictable nature of the powder could result in another emergency for first responders. Firefighters need to be aware of ammunition, even when it is not loaded in a gun. Ammunition or bullets may be present in any strength or caliber and in any location in a structure. As firefighters, we are trained to evaluate risk and, with an increased knowledge about bullets added to an increased situational awareness about ammunition, we can ensure that everyone goes home. She is an experienced ladder and heavy rescue officer.

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