CASCADE, Idaho — After nearly 140 propane-related emergencies over the last ten years, Valley County is taking steps to prevent propane leaks and the resulting disasters.
On Monday, Valley County commissioners approved an ordinance that would better specify, as well as tighten, restrictions on propane tanks outside the home.
The driving force behind the propane ordinance originally started with McCall Fire Chief Garret De Jong, who pushed for better regulations for home propane systems after a propane leak caused a home explosion in March, killing one man and severely injuring a teenage girl.
Valley County is well-known for its heavy snowfall and extreme winters, which can cause frequent propane leaks.
Currently, there is no set standard on where propane regulators should be placed around the home, McCall fire officials said.
This ordinance changes that because it would require the regulators be placed on the gable end of a home, where McCall Fire Capt. Freddie Van Middendorp said the snow doesn't slide off the roof.
The ordinance also calls for a secure, metal enclosure to be placed around the regulator to protect it from snowfall or other damage.
“So by law we have not in the past been able to enforce any sort of code standard, all we can do is respond to the emergencies,” Van Middendorp said. “We’re going from a reactive policy to a proactive policy and that’s a lot safer not only for the public but also the first responders.”
In the last ten years, the McCall Fire District alone has had 136 propane related emergencies, Middendorp said. Three of those included were home explosions, including the one in March that killed a man.
In total, those three explosions resulted in one death, one serious injury and more than $2 million in property damages.
By reducing the amount of propane leaks and the amount of propane that can seep into a home, it protects both homeowners and first responders, so Middendorp feels the ordinance is a very good thing.
“The most dangerous propane related circumstance that we walk into is a house that is full of propane to a flammable or explosive limit," he said. "Almost always that is caused by some kind of impact to the second stage regulator an the piping on the outside. Basically the house is a Molotov cocktail or a bomb.”
Middendorp believes the ordinance will be an example that other areas will follow.
“This ordinance, now adopted, will be among the strictest, if not the strictest propane regulation in the country,” he said.
The ordinance takes effect within the next two weeks.