This Man Tried to Put Out a Fire With a Van Loaded With Ammunition

A real American hero lives by his own rules. 

A deputy with the Clay County Sheriff’s Department in Missouri was checking out a routine grass fire Tuesday when the situation took a turn for the weird. A van was in the middle of the flames, and it was crackling with what sounded like gunfire. The deputy found the van’s owner, reported the Kansas City Star, and ended up hearing an enlightening tale of DIY fire suppression gone wrong:

The deputy learned that the owner had been burning garbage in the field and accidentally let the fire get out of control. In an attempt to put the fire out, he drove his van back and forth over the flames.

This made matters worse, as the tires of the van caught fire. Realizing that the van was loaded with firearms ammunition and a full tank of gas, the driver evacuated the area for safety.

A local fire department managed to keep the fire from spreading and the owner didn’t even receive a citation for, well, being an idiot. A sheriff’s spokesman, Jon Bazzano, told the Star he thought his fellow citizen might file an insurance claim on the van, but he guy’s probably out of luck: “I don’t think [insurance] is going to cover it.”

Give it up for the unnamed owner of the van. We never knew how badly we needed to be educated on what happens when you mix bullets and an open flame.

Photos by Clay County Missouri Sheriff’s Office