Mike1234567
member
The Bastrop fire prompted me to have my little two acres cleaned up... had all the dead brush and dead trees removed. My buildings are "probably" safe now.
GunSafe after Texas wildfire
- Thread starter EmbarkChief
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EmbarkChief
Member
I belive they are going to salvage a Winchester pump .22 and one of the bolt guns. Not sure about the rest. I'm pretty sure the drywall was busted up when they were trying to open it. What really did this safe in was the duration of the fire, remember that the house burned to the ground and smoldered for days
BADUNAME37
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By the looks of those guns, I doubt they are worth restoring, I would be interested in whether the guns are still good, or are they scrap metal?
Would the safe have acted differently if the firemen would have been notified to keep a constant spray on it? I know with a small safe I have for documents, important papers, etc. instructions stated to try to have the fire company keep a constant spray in that direction as much as possible. Having all sorts of papers, documents, etc, in there, I would think if they weren't ruined by extreme heat or fire, water would make its way in and everything would be waterlogged!
I agree with others that, extreme heat for a period of days did it in! There was probably no water at all where maybe the directions may have called for water!
That has me wondering if it may be a good idea to have a sprinkler head over any safes people have, that is, if the instructions tell you during a fire to keep the safe sprayed with water! At least water may work for quite a while before that fails, nevertheless, it may be just enough and long enough to prevent overheating of the safe and its contents!
Would the safe have acted differently if the firemen would have been notified to keep a constant spray on it? I know with a small safe I have for documents, important papers, etc. instructions stated to try to have the fire company keep a constant spray in that direction as much as possible. Having all sorts of papers, documents, etc, in there, I would think if they weren't ruined by extreme heat or fire, water would make its way in and everything would be waterlogged!
I agree with others that, extreme heat for a period of days did it in! There was probably no water at all where maybe the directions may have called for water!
That has me wondering if it may be a good idea to have a sprinkler head over any safes people have, that is, if the instructions tell you during a fire to keep the safe sprayed with water! At least water may work for quite a while before that fails, nevertheless, it may be just enough and long enough to prevent overheating of the safe and its contents!
average_shooter
Member
Doubt it. Because I doubt the firefighters would do that, or even be informed. Unless you know the fire chief in your area, are really close friends with them, and they know exactly what your wishes are, and nothing else is burning.
Cold hard fact of the matter is, we can usually tell which houses are going to survive and which houses aren't worth risking our lives over before the flame front hits. The very best thing you can do in this instance, to prevent wildfire getting your home, is to have your property prepped before the danger is even present. 300' area around the house and any buildings clear to mowed grass, no woodpiles against the house, turn off / close any propane tanks when evacuations go into effect or fire is approaching, etc.
Firefighters in this situation wouldn't have had time or resources to dedicate to one house, much less one specific area of one house.
Sucks, but it's true.
BADUNAME37
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You are right, I forgot this was a forest fire, a very large fire, not just some fire in the corner of one house with five fire trucks out front.
ForumSurfer
Member
That one is doubtful in most any circumstance. The only way they would know that is if you are on the scene. Their priority would be to ignore you and do their job by trying to contain the fire.
Most agencies have the ability to make notes in their 911 system regarding special circumstances at certain addresses, but I don't see why any agency would clog up an e911 system with useless, non-emergency (read: non-life threatening) data like "please spray northeast corner liberally due to safe." Even if such a note existed, this was a widespread fire. They weren't dispatched there. Most of these notes consists of things like "homeowner is a convicted ___ with a history of violence towards first responders" or "homeowner has been cited for vicious dogs numerous times and acts aggressively towards first responders" and etc.
FAS1
Member
Any way to confirm what make and model the safe is? Makes me want to consider a little more fire protection for some of my valuables.
FAS1
Member
Frank,
In your opinion what would be an example of a safe that would hold up in similar conditions and have your guns/valuables survive in good shape? Are there any?
Look guys lets be realistic.
In order for a safe to survive a fire of that magnitude,which again was no house fire but a raging fire storm that consumed 35,000 acres (or more) over several days,you would need a bona fide U.L. rated
2 hour rated fire safe and even then that might not be enough.
Again this was no normal house fire.
In order for a safe to survive a fire of that magnitude,which again was no house fire but a raging fire storm that consumed 35,000 acres (or more) over several days,you would need a bona fide U.L. rated
2 hour rated fire safe and even then that might not be enough.
Again this was no normal house fire.
Jim Watson
Member
It kept out enough heat that the trigger guard of the Remington 870 and the receiver of the Henry .22; both nonferrous parts, were not melted. Aluminum and Zamak are pretty low melting, relative to chrome moly.
a1abdj
Member
Probably not. There are safes that may have performed better, but with that type of fire it's more a matter of luck than anything else.
That's exactly it. These types of situations, and even normal fires, can exceed the ability of the safe to protect its contents.
We don't see many wild fires in Missouri, but I have had conversations with other safe techs from around the country that do deal with these types of events. I have also seen photos of all sorts of safes that have been through these fires. As a general rule, a below grade, in the floor safe, is your best chance of survival. A below grade vault would probably also survive.
Anything above ground is going to subject to whatever the fire decides do to. You may be lucky, and have the safe exposed to little heat. You may also be unlucky and have your safe melted into a puddle of molten steel.
Purgatory
Member
That is SUCH a Shame.
Yeah, with that magnitude of a fire, I guess it's pretty unrealistic to imagine the contents of any make of safe would fare well at all.
Interesting to note the un-sooted carpet under the butts of the rifles in the one pic.
Yeah, with that magnitude of a fire, I guess it's pretty unrealistic to imagine the contents of any make of safe would fare well at all.
Interesting to note the un-sooted carpet under the butts of the rifles in the one pic.
VP
Member
This makes me want to install a fire suppression system.....
Jim Watson
Member
Makes me glad I don't live in the woods.
Or on a flood plain, etc.
There are some places that are just not reasonably inhabitable.
Or on a flood plain, etc.
There are some places that are just not reasonably inhabitable.
Mike1234567
member
The next money I get I'll be building a cinder block outbuilding for storage. I've been thinking about that for a long time and the Bastrop fire has made up my mind. It won't be just for firearms because the cost would outweigh the value of my meager collection. This is also to safely store ammo, food, emergency supplies, etc., plus double as a safer place to stay during tornado warnings.
Purgatory
Member
I suppose this falls in line with a thread about a fire-leveled house and a charred safe.
Are cinder blocks a good way to go for weather/fire resistant storage?
Will you be lining the interior hollows of the blocks with steel framing of some kind?
Anybody's input on super-resilient storage structures would be very interesting here.
I've just always considered underground elements-resistant storage, myself.
Mike1234567
member
In my area it won't be necessary to go to too much trouble. A simple cinder block building will be more than adequate but it'll be reinforced with rebar for longevity and extra strength against tornadic winds.
I would consider undergorund storage but I worry about water seepage.
I would consider undergorund storage but I worry about water seepage.
ElToro
Member
makes me sick to my stomach to see that. sorry for your friends loss of possessions good thing he wasnt hurt. my brother lives in TX in an affected fire area and they had the fire crew come by their place at least once and tell them that if the winds shifted have their stuff ready and be prepared to evacuate. they kept all their important papers and photos near the front door for a few days. i know for a fact he doesnt have a safe of any kind for his several long guns. i hope he will get something.
i live in a suburban tract house and my neighbors garage caught on fire in the middle of the night. FD was there in < 15 minutes. all his tools were ruined. my amsec BF6636 is in my garage and im thinking of going to a better fire rated, heavier safe. wife thinks im paranoid. showing her photos like this does not convince her.
i live in a suburban tract house and my neighbors garage caught on fire in the middle of the night. FD was there in < 15 minutes. all his tools were ruined. my amsec BF6636 is in my garage and im thinking of going to a better fire rated, heavier safe. wife thinks im paranoid. showing her photos like this does not convince her.
jdh
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- Jan 5, 2008
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Mike1234567 said:
Hope it works out better for you than is did for me. I did everything the forest service said to do to prepare.
Here are the results http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.278792765481235.87092.100000515406352&type=1&l=8013869f0b
Chief, at least yours still had wood left. Mine didn't. All I found of one AR was the bolt, bolt carrier, and barrel.
a1abdj
Member
If you park a car (or cars) in the garage, the fire will burn much hotter than any other part of the house. Even a well built safe sitting next to a burning car may have its ratings exceeded.
Brown safe is the way I went
I just bought a Brown Mfg gun safe it is a double door model with fire cladding for extra protection. It starts as a class C safe 1/2" steel plat body and 1" steel plate door. They add 2 1/2" of high PSI concrete mix fire cladding wrapped in 12 gage steel outer body. My safe weighs in at 4600 pounds. I think it would have provided more protection then a dry wall insulated safe. Here is a link for a few picture of a Brown safe that went thru a house fire simular to the Bastrop fire. http://www.brownsafe.com/categories/faq/FireTestimonialIntro.htm
Thanks,
Bill
I just bought a Brown Mfg gun safe it is a double door model with fire cladding for extra protection. It starts as a class C safe 1/2" steel plat body and 1" steel plate door. They add 2 1/2" of high PSI concrete mix fire cladding wrapped in 12 gage steel outer body. My safe weighs in at 4600 pounds. I think it would have provided more protection then a dry wall insulated safe. Here is a link for a few picture of a Brown safe that went thru a house fire simular to the Bastrop fire. http://www.brownsafe.com/categories/faq/FireTestimonialIntro.htm
Thanks,
Bill
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