Safety Notice: Flash fires in bullet catchers

Sparks

From the Firearms Range Inspector:

Gentlemen,

This notice is circulated to range owners and operators as an information
note regarding a potential hazard, specifically associated with indoor
shooting, but also potentially related to shooting where the firing point
is located indoors .

It is circulated to shooters for information only.

The Health and Safety Authority in the UK have recently reported an
incident on an indoor shooting range where a contractor working on the
bullet catcher initiated a flash fire causing injury. It is believed that
a build-up of unburned propellant in and around the bullet trap provided
the fuel for this initiation.

The potential for unburned propellant to be initiated by spark, friction,
flame or other source of heat is well known and all due precautions should
be taken to prevent such an event.

It is for this reason that the attention of range owners and operators is
drawn to the obligation to rigorously clean the range area.

Unburned propellant may gather in areas that are not well ventilated and
not subjected to a regular cleaning regime. This is most likely to happen
on indoor shooting areas or ranges where firing points are located indoors.
However, it may also occur on outdoor shooting areas where the firing
points or bullet catchers are in a sheltered area. It is advised that
regular deep cleaning of such areas is conducted and that these cleaning
events are recorded in the range maintenance recording system.

It is strongly advised that warning signs be erected in the area of the
bullet catcher and the firing point of each shooting area advising that
explosive dust may be present. These signs should also forbid the use of
naked flames, spark, friction or flame producing materials in these areas
unless an appropriate risk assessment has been completed..

The risk assessment for each shooting area should also be amended to
consider this risk and any ameliorative measures that are put in place to
limit the risk.

John Guinane
Firearms Range Inspector
Department of Justice and Equality

sfakiaman

I think the above scenario is highly unlikely and falls into the realm of 'a friend of my brother-in-law heard down the pub'. Most indoor ranges are 25 yds and the chances of unburnt propellant reaching the bullet trap must be pretty near zero at that distance. The only way to hurt yourself with smokeless powder would be to pour it on your hand and light it, try pouring a bit on a non-combustable surface and putting a match to it, it will just fizzle away (don't try this with black powder). It's more likely that paper from targets caught fire and since there isn't usually any naked flame or electrical equipment immediately adjacent to the bullet trap the cause of the injury was probably human error. No harm keeping the place clean just the same.

Sparks

I think it more falls into the category of unlikely but happened, given the context...

fish slapped

Nice to see the word "propellant" being used instead of explosive or gun powder.