I found two earlier metaphorical usages of short fuse both from the early 1960s
The first is from the novel, The Stainless Steel Rat, by Harry Harrison, first printed in 1961.
He had a short fuse and it took him a moment to get his temper back under control. source
Wikipedia says that the author penned a total of twelve books in the Stainless Steel Rat series.
The second earliest recorded instance is from the 1963 POW novel, Yanks Don't Cry, written by Martin Boyle.
His expression at this point should have been the tip-off that he had a short fuse, but still we didn't move. The head bat-wielder looked up at Mabel and got the go-ahead nod. Without another word he and his cohorts went to work on us.
It might have been a rather successful novel because it was reviewed by the New York Times in August 18, 1963.
YANKS DON'T CRY. Martin Boyle. (Bernard Geis Associates. $4.95.)--In this personal narrative, Martin Boyle, a former Marine, has written a warm, defiant, blunt, occasionally coarse, often hilarious and sometimes glorious account of his 44 months as a prisoner-of-war in Japan.
Digging deeper, it seems clear that the expression was well-known long before the 1960s.
From a 1949 document, American Correctional Association, we have the following
Problems of the junior camp boy are further complicated because he has a short fuse and is emotionally explosive. His emotional disturbance seems deeper than the older boy in senior camp. His delinquency patterns have been cut at a younger age while he is experiencing the processes of puberty and adolescence.
What was the most salient factor that led to the coinage?
I suggest it was the thousands of mining accidents that occurred at the turn of the 20th century. Metal and coal mines that exploded, workers who went back too soon to check why the detonator hadn't exploded and tragically lost their lives or were permanently maimed.
The following examples show that "a short fuse" was associated with danger, violence, disaster, unpredictability, and more often than not death. It explains that there was not a single incident, battle, news item, book, story, or movie line that helped "popularized" the expression.
Test pieces from the same roll of fuse revealed a uniform burning rate, and it is believed that the accident was caused by a short fuse and not by a rapidly burning one. (1943)
He filed claim for compensation and on January 29 1930, the compensation commission denied the claim on the ground that “he was at the time of the injury using a short fuse in violation of the mining laws of West Virginia.” (1933)
It is présured that one miner lost his life from a premature explosion caused by a short fuse or a shortened igniter which fired the charge before he could get out of the room. Six persons were killed when several boxes of explosives detonated. (1931)
Miner had prepared two 30-inch charges of black blasting powder. Victims were struck by flying coal. Possibly short fuse or too early ignition with means of lighting fuse. (1928)
In handling fuse do not bend it any more than is necessary. Twisting or bending fuse is liable to damage it and may result in a delayed blast. The fuse should always be cut long enough to allow the man firing the blast to get to a safe place. It is dangerous to attempt to hasten an explosion by using a short fuse. (1914)
The Prevention of Accidents from Explosives in Metal Mining