Alton Firefighters Fight Fire, Exploding Ammo

By Nicholas Phillips on Thu, Jan 21, 2010 at 12:40 pm

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Alton Firefighters Fight Fire, Exploding Ammo

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dvs/ / CC BY 2.0

Situation: Alton firefighters respond yesterday afternoon to a burner at the home of an actual gunsmith (i.e., a person who designs, makes or repairs small firearms).

Result: DANGER!

Assistant fire chief David Eichen told The Telegraph:

"Upon arrival, we were immediately warned by the neighbor that the owner of the house is a gunsmith and all of his works were in the basement where the fire originated," Eichen said. "Upon pulling hose to the house, there were rounds of ammunition going off in the basement.

"Theoretically, since they were not chambered, they were not as dangerous," he said. "But we still exercised extreme caution."

Daily RFT wonders if responding to a blaze at a gunsmith's house is some sort of firefighter pet peeve. E.g., chief announces, "OK boys, we got a live one!...At a gunsmith's house." And all the firefighters shake their heads. "Again? This sucks."