BOISE, Idaho — A flammable gas leak is being blamed for a McCall house explosion that killed one man and left a teenage girl badly injured.
The Idaho State Fire Marshal, Knute Sandahl, released the results of his investigation Wednesday morning.
According to Sandahl, an undetected propane leak is what led to the explosion. He said there were fractures in the joints of the piping from the propane tank and so the gas pooled in a crawlspace underneath the house, eventually making its way up through the floorboards and inside the home.
Sandahl said the explosion in McCall is not the first, but by raising more awareness about the dangers of propane, he hopes it can be the last.
While discussing the investigation results, Sandahl described how a large amount of snow had melted and piled on top of the propane tank's meter and regulator. He said fire investigators believe the snow added enough weight that it caused the fractures in the piping underneath the home.
“We can prevent this by – when a snow slide occurs, to clear it out right away," Sandahl said. "Create a path to your regulator, create a path to your meter. Clear off any snow that is built up on the propane tank.”
Romeo Gervais, deputy chief with the Boise Fire Department, agrees that's an important thing to do in all weather conditions, not just snow.
“I would even add on top of that, a wildfire risk," he said. "Keeping them clear of grass and brush materials around them.”
Homeowners should also make sure to keep the area around propane and gas tanks clear.
“Usually when we see it, is when people stack woodpiles next to it or put storage next to it or just being aware, that hey, this might be a safe zone here and trying to keep things away from those propane tanks,” Gervais said.
Because leaks happen most often at the joints, Gervais said, keeping those connections clear is another important prevention step.
“You can take some soap and water and kind of soap those connections with the tank open and if the tank is leaking, you’ll see bubbles coming out," he explained. "It’s certainly pertinent as well to check any of the hoses. So if you have an RV trailer, or even a gas grill for example, make sure that hose is well maintained and not cracked or leaking.”
McCall home explosion kills one, injures another
Sandahl encouraged everyone to get an important tool to help detect natural gas leaks. He said smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors are a must - and he would add one more to the list.
“In addition, I am pleading with the residents of Idaho that rely on natural gas or propane for either heat or to fire appliances, to please install a flammable gas detector.”
Gervais agrees that having a natural gas detector is never a bad idea.
“You can purchase those for your home or your camp trailer," he said. "They detect different types of combustible gas, from natural gas to propane. They even make some combination detectors which will detect carbon monoxide as well as those combustible gases.”
According to Gervais, natural gas detectors look very similar to carbon monoxide detectors, and can usually be bought in most of the same places. He added it's important to remember when buying a detector, to read on the product what exactly it detects to make sure you're buying what you really need.
He also said to make sure and follow manufacturer's instructions if you do buy one, because they are all a little different.
In Sandahl's report, he also mentioned that the teenage girl who survived remembered smelling propane the day before the explosion.
“What she was smelling was the ethyl mercaptan," Sandahl said. “That is an odor put in by the manufacturers as a way of telling if there is a leak. You all are familiar with this – it smells like rotten eggs.”
According to Sandahl, the smell in the McCall home was discarded as dirty laundry and was ignored.
He said it's important to never discount the smell of propane or gas.
Fire officials said if you do smell gas, try to find the source of it. If you can't, turn off the propane or the source and call 911.
Gervais said just because you air out the smell, doesn't mean the gas goes away.