MCCALL, Idaho — A push in Valley County is attempting place in stricter regulations around propane regulators on residences. This follows a house explosion in McCall in March and amid increased calls across the board for propane leaks. The McCall Fire District is trying to make changes to protect homes in the future.
Investigators say the home exploded after snow built up on a propane regulator, causing gas to leak into the house. The gas had nowhere to go so it sat in the basement and the crawl space of the house, eventually igniting.
The foundation is all that’s left on the home, with houses on both sides of it are still being repaired. The explosion killed one person and critically injured another.
McCall Fire Chief Garrett de Jong said this isn’t a new problem.
“Over the past 10 years, we have responded to 126 propane leaks in our fire district,” he said.
Three propane explosions have happened in Valley County since 2011.
“We had one in 2011 on Majestic View Drive that did $575,000 of property damage. We had one in 2016 on Vista Drive that did $125,000 of property damage,” de Jong said. “Then the one on Fairway Drive between the house that exploded and occupancies next door we estimate at $1.2 million in damage.”
He and other fire chiefs in Valley County are working on a possible solution. They’ve formed a coalition with the propane providers in the county in an attempt to implement safeguards.
“We’re trying to have an ordinance that just shows them specifically how we’re going to protect second stage regulators in Valley County,” de Jong said. "The intent of this is to keep homes safe."
A second stage regulator is placed on the side of a house, right now there are no regulations in place to protect them. Without it, pipes can be exposed and snow can build upon them causing the pipes to bend and leak.
The ordinance would require a metal box around it to protect it. It would also require future builders to place regulators on the gable end of a home, instead of the shed side.
De Jong said this requirement is being put in because the snow falls off the roof on the shed side, and is where his department has seen the most issues.
“So that in the event that snow slides off the roof or gets shoveled against the home, it won’t break or put any pressure on the second stage regulator,” de Jong said.
Spencer Lamarche is a homeowner in McCall and already placed a metal box protecting his regulator eight years ago.
“Just noticed that regulator was getting hit by snow and didn’t want any issues,” Lamarche said.
De Jong said the ordinance is needed since the explosion, four more homes reported propane leaks.
“In one instance, we had a home on the lake that was about 3,000 square feet and they had their second stage regulator in a decent location,” de Jong said. “They had the snow shoveled about a month prior and the snow buildup from shoveling the roof put pressure on the line and created a leak in the house. The local sewer district workers were in the area, smelled propane and called us and we got on scene and had a very explosive level of gas throughout this three-story home.”
The chief says the same thing could’ve happened to that house and the three others who reported the leaks.
“After witnessing the Fairway Drive explosion and seeing the volatility of propane gas and what it can do, going into the homes that have an explosive level of gas after witnessing that is spooky,” he said.
The ordinance would only apply to new construction or when someone takes out their current propane regulator system and replaces it.
“We don't have the authority, nor does any regulatory body to retroactively fix things that are wrong,” de Jong said.
The motivation behind the proposed change is simple.
“So we can prevent tragedy like what happened on March 17 at Fairway Drive,” he said.
This ordinance could be in place by the end of the summer, which means it’ll impact next year’s building season. After this ordinance is in place, de Jong said he is going to try and get the state to put in more regulations as well.
“There should be a state rule on second stage regulator protection in heavy snow areas,” he said. “It's a gray area in the state, and propane providers are left to interpret NFPA 58 however they interpret it and it's caused a problem, at least here in McCall.”
NFPA 58 is the current regulation that propane providers must follow when installing a system on a home. Because there are no regulations, it is left up to the propane company to interpret the rules.
De Jong also wants homeowners to get a combustible gas detector, which can be found at most hardware or home improvement stores. They alert someone if they have a propane or natural gas leak.