Firefighters and cops in Chesterfield, Virginia, were probably relieved to discover that the five gunshots they were called over to investigate were not fired at a human being. They weren’t even fired by a human being. At least not directly.
The incident has led the authorities to issue a blanket warning to any who need to hear it, even though it should be one of the lessons we all instinctively know from birth: Do not store your guns in the oven.
Videos by VICE
Firefighters responded to a report of a home fire, where they discovered that a loaded handgun in the oven had been inadvertently heated. When a gun gets really hot it undergoes a phenomenon called “cooking off,” where it fires on its own due to excessive heat exposure. No one was hurt, though I really hope the person responsible at least feels like a moron. However, it’s difficult to say whether someone who keeps their guns in the oven is capable of such introspection.
Chesterfield firefighters and police have since issued a warning to local citizens about keeping firearms in the oven. Rather than keeping little lead capsules surrounded by gunpowder in a box that can reach 500 degrees, perhaps consider a gun safe. Or a drawer with a lock on it.
The wild part of the story is that this isn’t the first time this has happened. In 2018, a guy tried to hide his revolver in the oven to keep it out of his kid’s reach, only for the gun to go off when his girlfriend turned the oven on to bake something. Folks, there are so many drawers and shelves and hollowed-out Bibles you could be keeping your guns in that are a significantly safer option than in oven. Please choose any of them before you put them in a box designed to cook a chicken.
