Fire at shooting range is latest in long history of problems

Skoop88 I would like to listen to your point of view over a cup of coffee, please tell me if this is possible!!!!

Thank you very much , Orion. It is a shame indeed , when this could have been prevented. God Bless You!!

Whether it be Virginia's southern redneck, Vermont's northern hillbillies or, well, I guess Alaskan's have an excuse having to fight off grizzly bears, elks, Eskimo’s and what not.

It's a shame a poorly maintained facility has caused you such injury and pain. I find it even more shameful that this incident brings out the anti-gun lobby when what happened had nothing to do with the improper use of or the malfunction of firearms.

I hope your recovery is fast and without complications; you are in my prayers...

Thanks for making my point even clearer....

I called you all red-necks before you challenged my view. I made my point and I feel no need respond to your points.

It's funny that the two states with the least stringent gun laws are Vermont and Alaska. Not exactly red neck country there is it Skoops88?

...is when your bluff is called and your myopic viewpoint is challenged, you resort to name-calling.

Skoops, we may or may not be "red-necks" but you’re true colors are showing very brightly.

Very sad indeed...

There is no point in arguing with gun toting red-necks, or chain smoking idiots. They have their own twisted way of rationalizing things.

BTW, I never said not to teach children about guns. There are many other ways to teach about guns then putting one in a minor’s hand. So to teach your child about responsible use of alcohol, tobacco, drugs, sex, you are going to let your "child" experience all first hand. That seems to be that way you think… Again a big bravo on your parenting.

AMEN to that!
Thank you , Josh
You are EXACTLY right

Well then, I guess I shouldn't teach him to swim because he might drown. And perhaps I shouldn't teach him to drive because he might crash. Yeah, that makes sense! By the way, I bring up swimming and driving because they each kill more kids every year than guns do. As a responsible gun owner and parent, I teach my son that using a gun for delf-defense is a last resort and that using it to resolve a dispute is NEVER an option. By the way, as if it were your business, my 13-year-old son is an honor roll student participates in sports and is 5'10"/160lb and wasn't raised by a TV. I strongly suggest that you, like all the other "Guns are bad!" people out there learn about the facts of responsible gun ownership. From my experience, legal gun owners are far more educated in firearms responsibility, firearms laws and firearms statistics. If you would like to become more educated in these areas, please start by visiting the following web sites and further links from these sites: www.vcdl.org, www.opencarry.org, www.carryconcealed.net.

My part 1 didn't come through, so here it goes again. This is in reply to Skoops. I am 18 years old and legal to shoot a gun. However , like I said nobody I was with was shooting. Step in my shoes for a minute and just imagine because this is very inappropriate handling. You think you are in a SAFE and controlled atomosphere , completely secure. Then , BOOM an explosion and the whole room is engulfed in seconds. NOBODY asked for this to happen. It was ALL a mistake of not taking the proper and accurate cleaning procedures and precautions. The fire marshal told exactly what happened. A&P Arms swept all the gunpowder and put it in a bag or bucket. They left that sitting right in front of somebody's shooting area and one of their shells fell into the gun powder , ignited a fire and then it all exploded. So , I would greatly appreciate you stop making accusations , judgements , and statements unless you were there. Because you clearly don't know what happened and are handling this in a very unjust manner. Thank you for taking the time to read this , for my eyes are almost swollen shut and I have 2nd degree burns on my face , arms , and back.

Victim ,
Ashley Abell

Oh I here it now, “their purpose is self defense” well if that’s the case then put you fat kid in karate class, let him get some exercise and learn some self discipline.

What you speak of is the wrong kind of self-discipline. Sounds like you watch too many movies. Too any people think if you know a “few moves” you can disarm someone with a gun. This is rare unless you are in very close quarters. Besides, the martial arts are not going to stop a bullet from a criminal's gun; the last time I checked Remo Williams was fiction.

Last time I checked the kids that go off on shooting rampages were pretty handy with guns i.e. Columbine. It's great their parents taught them how to shoot, huh?

Equating a child's education on the proper handling of a firearm and Columbine is, frankly, stupid. Those malfunctions of humanity have nothing to do with proper gun safety or responsibility and their parents did nothing even though the signs of their mental states were visible.
Regardless if it is a person, deer, turkey, or a target you are teaching your child to kill. That’s all guns do, it's their purpose.

If your line of reasoning was correct, the planet would have had a nuclear war. After all they are built to "only kill." Ever hear of deterrence? If someone is robbing you at knifepoint and you pull out a .40 guess what happens next? The thug gets arrested, NOT killed.

Hey Skoops88, yes guns kill. That is their purpose. Some use it for food and others for self defense. There are those who commit acts of murder with this tool. It is a tool. Some have used knives, box cutters, bats, or tasers. There are many choices for a law abiding citizen or someone intent to break the law with malevolent intentions. Because you disagree with a tool that some use to hurt others, doesn't mean it should be taken out of the hands of those who wish to use it to level the playing field. In Chicago, where gun laws are among the toughest in the nation, only the criminals have guns. It's so bad that Mayor Daley has issued the police assault weapons to combat the problem. Anywhere there has been a mass shooting, it has happened where citizens where not allowed by law to carry a handgun. Criminals don't care about signs that say "Gun Free Zone", except for the fact that no one inside will be able to fire back when they open fire. Take any mall shooting or school shooting that has happened recently and your argument of learning a martial art falls flat on it's face. You can't count on the police either. There is a saying that "when seconds count, the police a

Just becuse a parent decides to teach his or her child to learn the proper way to handle a firearm, some of you choose to start calling these people names. Now that contributes to the coversation.
Some kids have loftier ambitions that imitating mass murderers. They actually want to make something of themselves like the FBI, Secret Service, DEA to name a few my sone has mentioned. I won't give the tired old arguments about why we want to own, shoot or teach our prodigy to handle firearms, but let it suffice to say that it is still our right.
Some of you can do such a bang up job of raising your kids by teaching them some fantstic name calling.

OK, since Georges cannot even spell the word right, here is an explanation from OSHA:

http://www.osha.gov/dts/shib/shib073105.html

I thinkl you will find Wiki is fairly accurate. Obviously Georges gets his factual information from here, since he knows how much of it is false.

What a MA-ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON.

Skoops88,

Your comments are very ignorant. Just because you choose not to properly educate your children about firearms, does not mean you have to inject your fear induced opinions onto other responsible parents. Anyways, back to the subject. That range should have been kept up to spec. There was no reason for that accident to occur other than negligence.

Nice folks, eh?

scoops-sorry to tell you this but, guns kill people just like a spoon made Rosie O'Donnel fat. Should we ban knives for killing. I dought you would not want to cut that steak. Kids and gun accidents occur 9 times + out of ten do to lack of education and their natural curiosity. Teach a kid to respect and use a gun and you remove that curiosity. In the cases of shootings, such as Columbine, those kids would have used a gun irregardless. It has nothing to do with curiosity. People need to stop using those excuses, they are nonsense, just like global warming. OOPs, I digressed. PEACE.

You must be proud of your son’s ability to fire a deadly weapon. Last time I checked the kids that go off on shooting rampages were pretty handy with guns i.e. Columbine. It's great their parents taught them how to shoot, huh? Nothing says, "Here Johnny, I want you to have the best childhood possible" like shooting lessons and killings!!! Regardless if it is a person, deer, turkey, or a target you are teaching your child to kill. That’s all guns do, it's their purpose. Oh I here it now, “their purpose is self defense” well if that’s the case then put you fat kid in karate class, let him get some exercise and learn some self discipline. Nah, teaching him how to pull the trigger is a lot easier huh? Good thing you are passing the red-neck traditions off to the younger generation. Yeee-hawww!!!! And great parenting buddy!!!

Why would anyone want their kids to learn about guns? Children who are taught gun safety and responsibility are far less likely to be involved in an accidental shooting. It's the kids who are curious about the gun they are never allowed to touch that end up sneaking around and playing with a gun while the parents are not around. I got a BB gun when I was 8 years old. I fired a shotgun when I was 12 and I've been hunting ever since. Now at 34, I carry a holstered pistol wherever I go. My 13 year old son has fireed my pistol, rifle and shotgun both at A&P and at our hunting cabin. Rule #1 for firearms is to treat every gun as if were loaded. Until he is 18, rule #1 for my son is not to touch any gun unless Dad or Grandpa puts it in his hand. By then, my dad and I will have instilled in him a great respect for firearms and the knowledge to handle them safely and responsibly. Wait til you get held up by some thug one day, Skoop. The definition of a republican is a democrat who has been mugged.

I've been a member at the A&P range for about a year and a half. My experience has been that the bays are pretty well ventilated. Actually they feel down right drafty on a regular basis. The air is drawn away from the shooters.

I feel as though the staff does a reasonable job of keeping the facility a safe operation. They are a professional bunch of folks in my view. They manage the shooters as well as any range I've seen. Additionally, rules of the range (i.e. no rapic firing or double taps, etc) are clearly posted ln each lane.

My thoughts and prayers go out to those that were injured in the accident. Could have been me or one of my family in the third bay.

Why would your "Young Beautiful Niece" be at a shooting range anyways? It sucks that her life is now changed for the worse b/c of a parent that puts their child in a place children don't belong. Why does a child need to know how to fire a gun? Well here is one of the risks you put your children into if you feel the need.

An old lab experiment when I was in middle school would reproduce what it is. Just take a thin cup, put some baking soda in the bottom and get a loooong straw. Put one end of the straw in the bottom of the cup, hold a looong lit match over the cup, lightly blow through the straw and viola, dust explosion. Of course our lame educational system doesn't do lab real experiments anymore.

Hope they have good insurance??? One of them hurt was my Beautiful Young Niece. How can you put a price on her pain and suffering right now? How can you put a price on her time from having her beautiful young life right now? How can you put a price on her scars from the burns on her face, head , back , arms ??? As Young and Beautiful as she is, HOW? And what about the fear in her ,and what it did to her mind when they knocked her down and trampled on her to get out of the place???what about the ones with her who were hurt severely.
This could have been prevented, had the laws and rules and regulations, been upheld or they had been shut down.
I send Love and Prayers To All thoses in this. God Bless.

Actually, the wiki article is very accurate. Dust accumulations can be ignited by flame, electrical spark, or static electricity. Many things which you think can not burn, such as metal dust, can be explosive in the right proportions. There has been much loss of life and facility destruction due to these types of events in industry. Most recently the Georgia sugar refinery blast and fire and several years ago West Pharmaceuticals in NC.

Anyone can write or edit information in the "Wiki" defination site. There is nothing reliable on that site as being true.

This fire was most likely caused for the same reason as the explosion in 94, which wasn't a high level explosion, rather a rapid burning of unburnt gunpowder that caused a rapid expansion of gases that couldn't be vented quick enough and caused the back wall and membrain roof to be displaced. I lived across the street in 94 and actually saw the roof covering swell up like a ballon. The clean-up method was to sweep the range floor and store the sweepings with expended rounds behind the backstops in 55 gallon drums, and some source of ignition (possibly a tracer or a jacketed round) to fall into the drum containing unburnt powder. They need to modify their clean-up and storage program.

i was there. im there on weekends. it could have been a dust explosion. that is the rifle bay. it sometimes gets cloudy in there. i usually walk out for a while and chat with people or look for something new while the dust settles.

im gonna get my range membership extended for this, right? :)