Ive never hear that from a fire department. Boxed ammo doesn't stop them around here but a loaded gun will. Hot ammo cooks off and when they do propel, its a short trip with little force. Maybe there are some firemen here that can chime in.
Cabelas sell a nice ammo only safe for around $400.00. I helped a friend of mine move one into this house a few weeks ago. Holds quite a bit of ammo.

 

A collector I have known for many years was recently put in an assisted living center with dementia, and this past week his home burned. The insurance investigators still haven't made their investigation as to the cause, and they won't let the family even go into the several gun safes he had even though it has rained every other day now for some time. He had a lot of ammunition as well as reloading components, and the fire department would not go in until the ammunition, powder, and primers were no longer going off. It may vary from fire department to fire department, but in this case they wouldn't go in.

 

We use to pitch .22 cartridges into the campfire to hear them pop. Never seen one come whizzing out of the fire. To be honest, I dont know if Id go into a house that was on fire if I knew there was ammo so, I cant blame the departments that refuse. I keep mine in military ammo cans and stored in my storage building but I always have loaded guns in the house and a few shells here and there. It kind of hard not to if you are into guns.

 

Different fire department have different policies. Locally here, as longs as its not in chamber, we go in. Rounds in boxes no big deal. In chamber, different story.

 

JohnnyP, I'd hate to think it but if that fire lasted a while and the safes were in the middle of it....the contents probably cooked...I've seen this sort of thing before. I feel like running some copper pipes and attaching sprinkler heads on them right now

 

Several of the safes were large record type safes with heavy insulation, but even if not heat damaged from the fire they are now extremely rusty.

As to the copper pipe, if soldered the house fire would melt the joints and you still wouldn't have water.

 

I use a metal cabinet with locking handles. Keeps the honest folks honest.

 

Ammo in a fire https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&v=3SlOXowwC4c

 

I use a refrigerator that I picked up for free from an appliance store that takes away the old ones when delivering a new one. Worked the handle so that the door would pop open if anything in side ever went off, but it can only go open enough to vent unless you unlock the padlock on the extended hasp.

Bob