So, this is what we’ve got:
→ Man drives van onto garbage fire in attempt to quell flames.
→ Van happens to be loaded with guns, ammunition, and full tank of gas.
↳ Vans don’t put out fires.
Or, as Ian Cummings explains for the Kansas City Star:
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.
And to make sure we cover the really important stuff, Clay County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Jon Bazzano pointed out that the owner did not make a report for an insurance claim because, “It seems like he’s just going to have to take a loss on that vehicle because I don’t think they’re going to cover it”, and that’s all well and fine, but there is another aspect worth considering.
Something about responsible gun ownership goes here; the van owner was not cited for criminally dangerous stupidity, and perhaps that’s just how the law works and such, but, you know, really. Responsible gun ownership. What part of driving a van full of firearms and ammunition into a garbage fire coincides with the idea of responsible gun ownership, and what does that intersection actually look like?
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Image note: Composite ― Two images from Clay County (Missouri) Sheriff’s Office, 13 October 2015. A local resident inexplicably attempted to put out a garbage fire with a van full of firearms and live ammunition.
Cummings, Ian. “Man tries to put out garbage fire by driving over it in a van loaded with ammunition”. The Kansas City Star. 13 October 2015.
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