# My neighbor's house burned down.... 16 guns inside. Are they ruined?



## TigerGalLE (Mar 5, 2010)

So my neighbor's house burned down yesterday. We found 3 handguns in the back bedrooms that look pretty good. Just smokey. He had a "fire proof" gun safe in the living room (where the fire started). Well the fire got so hot that the gun safe warped, the numbers on the combination melted, and it was almost impossible to open. The man was sent to the hospital so the neighborhood pulled together to help salvage what we could for fear that looters would come. It took the guys 3 hours to get into the gun safe. They had a lot of important papers in the safe that were ruined. 

There were about 12-15 rifles/shotguns inside the safe. A lot of the stocks melted and pulled away for the guns. (I'm not very gun savvy so excuse this ignorance).  It looks like all of the scopes are ruined. The scopes looked melted in spots and the lens are completely black and you can't just wipe the soot off. Some guns appear salvageable.  Does anyone have experience with guns that have been exposed to extreme temps like this? 

My husband is pretty knowledgeable about guns but this clean up job is just too large. I'm going to try to take all the guns to a local gun shop and see if he could give me a discounted price to clean them (just the ones that are salvageable). 

The guns that appear okay are still sticky and covered with dark black soot.  

Anyone know what it might cost to get them all cleaned up? 

What a terrible mess. Not only is the man in the hospital but all 4 of his dogs died inside the house.


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## Dead Eye Eddy (Mar 5, 2010)

I would be very leary of all of those guns.  Heat does crazy things to the tempering of the metal.  They might be just fine, or they might blow up.

I have a fire safe.  I hope that if (knock on wood) I ever have a fire that I'm home at the time.  I intend to instruct the fire fighters to pour water directly on the area where my gunsafe is and let the rest of the house burn.  If they can keep the gun safe cool enough to protect my gun collection, everything except my mounts and antlers can be replaced.


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## jonkayak (Mar 5, 2010)

Thats really sad to hear. I hope he recovers quickly. I wouldn't try and salvage the guns but that's me. I would just let the insurance replace them. If it was a special gun like something pasted from father to son then it might be ok to have it cleaned and fixed back up but I doubt I would ever trust it again with a live round. Heat does strange things to metal and it's not worth the risk.


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## TigerGalLE (Mar 5, 2010)

Thanks for the responses. Y'all are probably right, that was what I was afraid of.  What a bummer.... poor guy.


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## red tail (Mar 5, 2010)

First of all prayers sent.

it is terrible that his dogs didn't make it. Hopfully he himself will heal soon!!

as far as the guns. I would also let the INS. replace them. keep many sentimental ones for other reason but not trust them.


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## secondseason (Mar 5, 2010)

Has the insurance company had someone out to view the property and release it for cleanup?  

That being asked....the insurance company wants steps to be taken to prevent further damage.


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## TigerGalLE (Mar 5, 2010)

Yes the insurance company came out and took pictures soon after the fire was put out. 

I do not believe the house is salvageable. They'll have to bulldoze it and start over.


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## GA DAWG (Mar 5, 2010)

TigerGalLE said:


> Yes the insurance company came out and took pictures soon after the fire was put out.
> 
> I do not believe the house is salvageable. They'll have to bulldoze it and start over.


You'd be freaking surprized what they will try and salvage..Ours burnt once and they wanted to salvage it but finally gave in to re build..Lost all of our guns in the fire also..Found a few barrels is all...You can have some re done..If they didnt get hot enough to burn the wood or anything..I'd keep the barrels!!


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## jonkayak (Mar 5, 2010)

TigerGalLE said:


> Yes the insurance company came out and took pictures soon after the fire was put out.
> 
> I do not believe the house is salvageable. They'll have to bulldoze it and start over.



We use to rewire burnt homes and it was amazing what they would rebuild. If they bulldoze it and start over he should be thankful for that. I saw one house were all the walls and the flooring on the 2nd floor burned away. The exterior walls, some of the 1st floor interior walls, and some how the roof was about all that was left and some how they managed to rebuild the interior and keep the old roof.


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## redlevel (Mar 5, 2010)

I hope your neighbor recovers and is able to rebuild his home and replace all his belongings.  I have heard people compare a housefire of that enormity to a death in the family.  I don't know about that, but I know I would be devastated.  My prayers are with him.

I have never had much faith in the so-called fireproof safes.  Maybe some of the very high-dollar ones, but I think a bunch of what they call fire-proof or fire-resistant ain't really.  

I have been discussing this issue on another forum.  I have started keeping my guns and ammunition, including reloading components, in different places.  I have a safe at our place in the country and one at our primary residence.  I keep some guns and ammo at each place.   I loaned leadoff a Ruger Old Model .45 Blackhawk to hunt with last Fall.  When he said he was going to return it, I told him to just keep it in his safe.  I usually have several guns and a good bit of ammo in my pickup.  A fire or burglary at any one of the places wouldn't wipe me completely out.   My safes aren't high dollar ones, but they have the S&G locks on them.  They will deter the in and out in five minutes crackhead burglar.  They are so loaded down with ammo and guns that two kids with a handtruck and some chain ain't going to get them on the back of a truck in just a short time.  They won't stop somebody with a few hours to work with them, or somebody with proper tools and knowledge.


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## seaweaver (Mar 9, 2010)

I mentioned this some where else, a safe man told me to line any safe w/ fire retardant sheet rock to extend the burn time.
cw


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## CUTT'EM 76 (Mar 12, 2010)

Dead Eye Eddy said:


> I would be very leary of all of those guns.  Heat does crazy things to the tempering of the metal.  They might be just fine, or they might blow up.
> 
> I have a fire safe.  I hope that if (knock on wood) I ever have a fire that I'm home at the time.  I intend to instruct the fire fighters to pour water directly on the area where my gunsafe is and let the rest of the house burn.  If they can keep the gun safe cool enough to protect my gun collection, everything except my mounts and antlers can be replaced.



Pouring water on the area of the safe might not be a good idea unless your safe is fire and waterproof.Most are not waterproof,but some are.


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## CUTT'EM 76 (Mar 12, 2010)

jonkayak said:


> We use to rewire burnt homes and it was amazing what they would rebuild. If they bulldoze it and start over he should be thankful for that. I saw one house were all the walls and the flooring on the 2nd floor burned away. The exterior walls, some of the 1st floor interior walls, and some how the roof was about all that was left and some how they managed to rebuild the interior and keep the old roof.



I have a relative who's house burned and rebuilt.You can go up in the attic and see burned rafters and floor joist that were not replaced.


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## TigerGalLE (Mar 12, 2010)

We found out that his insurance will pay for the guns to be cleaned and checked by a gunsmith. So that is good news. 

Also my neighbor is home from the hospital and doing well.


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## CUTT'EM 76 (Mar 12, 2010)

TigerGalLE said:


> We found out that his insurance will pay for the guns to be cleaned and checked by a gunsmith. So that is good news.
> 
> Also my neighbor is home from the hospital and doing well.



Tell him your friends from GON are glad to hear he's doing better.


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