Tires can get damaged internally and the only real way to tell is to dismount them from the rim. If there is internal damage they can potentially explode while being filled with air.
I see a lot of people filling up their tires while sitting straight infront of them and if they do explode it explodes straight outward. My tip is to connect the air gauge and then stand of to the side while filling, just in case.
I have filled a lot of tires and I cannot think of a single time where I had appropriate equipment to inflate the tire from any position that wasn’t right in front of it.
In all my life I've only heard it now. My own little portable compressor, as I am 4wd travelling. Agree, before that I've never had that option, nor seen, or heard of a tyre exploding. Not to say it doesn't happen.
It happens far more with heavy vehicles than it does with cars. A truck tyre will be inflated to somewhere around 90psi, vs the 30ish a car tyre is. Fleet service technicians for heavy vehicles will place wheels inside a metal cage before inflating in order to contain any explosions which may occur.
The aircraft mechanic school I attended had a little cage to put tires in while inflating them. This is the only such thing I have ever seen including during aviation service in the field.
Tires being products that can directly affect consumer safety have very stringent rules about safety factor, which usually allows close to twice of rated pressure or load before they fail. So unless you are ballooning it to uncomfortable levels you should be fine.
The more credible danger from tires are if you constantly use them under inflated, which can cause them to separate out during transit causing loss of control in vehicle. So keep check of pressure once a week to rated pressure and you should be fine
Too bad the little clip mechanism at the end of the hose is always broken or very loose. There’s no other way than to stand in front of the tire and presses the end of the hose with my hand.