OAKLAND, CA—Members of the city’s fire and police departments worked with Alameda County Sheriff’s Office bomb squad over several hours Tuesday to safely remove aging gunpowder kegs discovered in a home for sale, authorities said.
That coordination should serve as an important reminder for families to remember to reach out to authorities when assessing storage spaces for possibly unsafe materials and items, Oakland Fire Department staff said.
Around noon, a team clearing a home in the 6200 block of Elderberry Drive that had been placed up for sale found about 30 to 40 pounds of gunpowder kegs, Oakland Fire spokesman Michael Hunt said.
“When they found the kegs, they stopped working and notified the agent, who called our fire prevention bureau,” Hunt said.
Vince Crudele, a management supervisor and senior fire inspector, said he has seen half a dozen similar cases in nearly fifteen years with the department.
After driving up to the house, he said he found a cache of rifle and pistol gunpowder that had belonged to one of the home’s residents who had died earlier this year.
“Apparently the deceased was a recreational shooter, and had a reloading supply,” Crudele said. “What made it hazardous was it was 40 to 50 years old.”
Crudele also found about 7,000 small-caliber rifle and pistol primers, “extremely volatile when of that age,” and saw that the gunpowder was in thin cardboard and metal containers and had been “compromised by age, time, moisture and heat.
“The problem is gunpowder becomes this loose powder cake. In that state, it’s unstable, volatile.”
Crudele immediately called the Alameda County sheriff’s explosives ordnance device team, or bomb squad, and sent them images from the scene. An Oakland Fire Department engine staged nearby with a water supply, while police and firefighters worked to evacuate four nearby homes.
The bomb squad then sprayed diesel fuel in order to help cool it off and lower its volatility before using tools to contain and transfer the gunpowder to noncombustible metal containers, which team staff took to the bomb-squad vehicle for safe disposal.
“They got here at 1:15 and were on scene until 6:45 p.m., so it took them five hours to safely remove that gunpowder from the home.”
No firearms were seized, and the resident’s collection, which was not present, had been obtained legally, Crudele said.
“All this was was reloading equipment, put away in this downstairs storage area of a multi-story home. The family was completely unaware that there was this type of accumulation … no idea it was there until today.”
Crudele saw Tuesday’s happy ending for the home and all involved agencies as an object lesson.”The good news is they did the right thing, they called the fire department before handling a potentially very dangerous situation without proper knowledge and skills to do it,” Crudele said.
“In my time I’ve seen other things: antique explosives, TNT, hand grenades from World War II, Marine Corps signaling flares … generations pass, and they have these items, not as common today. God forbid, someone had plugged in a vacuum cleaner and caused a friction detonation that could have injured or killed persons inside the home.”
In the city of Oakland, residents who encounter unusual or suspicious materials in homes should call the department at 510-238-3462. Elsewhere, residents should call 911, Crudele said.
“We’re all on the same team. This is a prime example of Oakland fire, Oakland police and the Alameda County sheriff working together to keep the community safe.”
Staff writer Harry Harris contributed to this report. Contact George Kelly at 408-859-5180.
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