diplomat dies when opening safe - safety device blamed.

[beancurd]

Apologies if I have put this in the wrong place..
http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25567884
Just found a news article about a diplomat who had opened a safe which had been sealed for 20 years.
Police assumed that he triggered a safety device and it exploded, killing him and injuring his wife.
Are these safety devices a common occurrence? Has anyone heard of exploding safes? I always thought they were an urban myth!

[GWiens2001]

In many countries, such devices that can actually cause harm are illegal. In some places, they are legal. And some people make such devices for their safes whether they are legal or not.

Gordon

[torontosafecracker]

Yes, this kind of thing happens, and I even know of a case where a locksmith/safe tech was killed (not personally) , also heard of Safe techs finding live bombs, they drilled, when if they punched. Kablooey! Like Gordon said, People rig explosives themselves because they feel the safe is not adequately protected and they have no regard for human life.Also there is companies who did specialize in this kind of thing. I am against stuff like this, legal or not. For the sake of the safe user, and the poor soul who may have to work on it one day. If it absolutely is a must to be rigged with explosives, it should be non lethal, and should have a warning sticker on the front of the safe. Okay I'm rambling. But you should also beware as a problem that is much more common, is tear gas. There is many of these safes kicking around, and some people still want them in their safes.


Be Careful , Open every safe like it's rigged, and be as non-destructive as possible. Manipulation may save your life.


Josh

[torontosafecracker]

I have some articles on precautions for working with tear gas and explosive rigged safes. Not something I can post on this level of this site due to the indication of drill points and RLs etc.

But I'd be happy to answer any specific questions.

[l0ckcr4ck3r]

I get the reasons why this may have been done, especially for a diplomatic safe. However, to rig it and leave the thing for 20 years is just insanity. Surely, some tech should have checked on its condition every now and then or at least passed on a warning to the rest of the diplomatic mission. It may have been another explosive device that just deteriorated over time, rather than some booby trap. Either way its still fairly Mickey Mouse security and certainly won't help the transition from "observer state" to a fully recognized one by the international community!

[ckc123]

Apparently he had the safe open and was already going through a few things in it.. maybe someone decided to put some explosive contents (hand grenade) in it. it might not have been a "trap" per say..

[mechanical_nightmare]

I also posted about this in the "Lockpicking related crime" thread. The latest information would suggest it was not a boobytrap:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/prague-embassy-explosion-safe-that-blew-up-killing-palestinian-ambassador-jamal-aljamal-didnt-have-antiburglar-boobytrap-say-staff-9035394.html

Like other members said, it was probably old munitions. Especially old, primed hand grenades tend to get unstable after a few decades of storage. Personally I wouldn't exclude the possibility of an adversary planting a boobytrap in that safe, as movie-esque as that sounds. As for actually rigging a safe to explode upon unauthorized opening attempts... I'm sure it's been done, boobytraps have even been made as chocolate bars that explode when snapped/bit into, so why not safes? Not a great idea if you ask me though.

[Ortin468]

I'd love to see what a warning label would look like...


WARNING BOOBY-TRAPPED SAFE...


I could imagine the graphics on this, but I'm no artist.

[Bluevan]

Just read this thread and it reminded me of some stupidity that happened near me last year. These two kids from a nearby town broke into a landscaping company and proceeded to cut into their safe with a torch (a hopeless endeavor to begin with). Well, the safe was full of fireworks and the explosion not only killed them both but destroyed the building too.

Keeping an old hand grenade in your safe (or anywhere for that matter)? Insanity. Fireworks in your safe? Sure, people probably do that all the time.

Well I guess the lesson to be learned here is that even "harmless" fireworks can turn your safe into a bomb.

Bluevan

[confusion]

Standard boby trap sign
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ ... ig13-4.gif

maybe an explosives warning sign as well, due to the nature of the booby trap

if all else fails, this should get the point across
http://www.decalpro.ca/catalog/!BNOt0,Q ... _149_1.JPG

[mechanical_nightmare]

Out of curiosity why would anyone keep fireworks in a safe? Are they that valuable? They are not too expensive around here.

[ptlockguy]

It's not a good idea to put fireworks, black powder or any type of explosive in a safe. In open air, black powder burns very quickly, but it doesn't explode. When confined, even by a the paper casing of a firecracker, the pressure increases rapidly, until the container ruptures. Anything of value in the container is likely to destroyed as well.

Most explosives degrade over time. Some become less effective or less sensitive, others become unstable and unpredictably sensitive. I believe tear gas can also become toxic.

[easy-e]

Out of curiosity why would anyone keep fireworks in a safe? Are they that valuable? They are not too expensive around here.

I'm sure lots of people who were trying to keep their kids or other people away from fireworks put them in their gun safe or some other kind of safe for "safe keeping" not realizing the potential risk.

[mechanical_nightmare]

easy-e wrote: I'm sure lots of people who were trying to keep their kids or other people away from fireworks put them in their gun safe or some other kind of safe for "safe keeping" not realizing the potential risk.

I can understand the reasoning, although as you said it is not safe. I also think it is overkill, unless you expect an expert burglar to be after your firecrackers or something. A wooden cabinet with a wafer lock should do just fine for kids; or an ABLOY cam lock, if your kid can pick locks

[billdeserthills]

I also posted about this in the "Lockpicking related crime" thread. The latest information would suggest it was not a boobytrap:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/prague-embassy-explosion-safe-that-blew-up-killing-palestinian-ambassador-jamal-aljamal-didnt-have-antiburglar-boobytrap-say-staff-9035394.html

Like other members said, it was probably old munitions. Especially old, primed hand grenades tend to get unstable after a few decades of storage. Personally I wouldn't exclude the possibility of an adversary planting a boobytrap in that safe, as movie-esque as that sounds. As for actually rigging a safe to explode upon unauthorized opening attempts... I'm sure it's been done, boobytraps have even been made as chocolate bars that explode when snapped/bit into, so why not safes? Not a great idea if you ask me though.

I can't think of a more deserving ambassador