Of course it can happen. But it's not very likely. Once, as I was heading out on a deployment in the middle of the night, my beloved was checking bits and pieces of my kit as I was dressing. A loud, sharp report, simultaneous with a subsonic projectile passing near me made my instincts shriek " accidental pistol shot!" Then the odor and bits of plastic shrapnel hit me and I knew what happened before I turned around. My wife - more of a greenhorn than me at the time, had decided that I didn't have enough strike-anywhere matches in my match safe, so she stuffed more into it - a lot more - and screwed the lid on. They were packed in so tightly that one or more heads were above the rim AND could not be seated deeper because the safe was so full. As she tightened the cap on the last bit, the lid crushed and set off the highest match. In forensic circles, this is a pipe bomb <grin>... Other than the cap to the safe, some minor burns, and a sprained thumb, no harm - we were very lucky.<br><br>They do not have enough mass at any acceleration your body can survive to ignite from sliding back and forth in a safe and "normal" strike-anywhere matches do not have a tip that is exposed to friction on the side of the head. Rarely, one will see a "mutated" match that has too much strike-anywhere on it that has slopped over onto a side - don't stuff those in a safe. Otherwise, though, they are not hazardous to carry. Give the matter some thought and I'm sure you can see that.<br><br>BTW, "safety matches" can be a hazard. I recall my Dad showing up a bit tardy for a function we were both attending. He was grimacing a bit as he walked... seems he had to return to his hotel room and change his trousers... as he was walking to the function, his pocket erupted in flames, burning the top of his thigh and ruining his trousers. He had two books of safety matches in that pocket - the striker on one book had intruded onto the heads of the matches on the other book and as he walked... <br><br>Match safes are not dangerous as long as you don't do something foolish with them.<br><br>Regards,<br><br>Tom