Man tries to extinguish garbage fire with van full of ammunition

If there was ever a candidate for the Darwin Awards, it would be this man from Missouri who spent his Tuesday afternoon attempting to put out an out-of-control fire by driving over it in a van full of gasoline and ammunition. Luckily, he survived, but lost his van, and perhaps dignity, to the flames.

A Clay County sheriff's deputy was in the middle of a traffic stop when he saw thick black smoke on the horizon, the Kansas City Star reported. When the unnamed officer arrived on the scene, he found a van burning in a field with bullets exploding inside. The deputy also found the owner of the van watching it burn from a safe distance.

The owner explained that he was burning some trash in the field when the blaze got out of control. He drove his van back and forth over the fire to try and extinguish it, however his tires soon caught on fire. Realizing the van had a full tank of gas and was loaded with firearm ammunitions, the owner abandoned his van to its Viking funeral.

The Liberty Fire Department was called in to make sure the fire did not spread. The deputy didn't charge the man with any crimes, and the owner of the van didn't bother to fill out a police report. Apparently, he didn't think his insurance would cover the total loss of the vehicle.