Propane Safety

Keeping your home and family safe is our highest priority. Our propane safety pages are designed to help you learn about propane and how to use it safely. Feel free to review the information online or use our brochure library to download and print valuable safety and reference materials you can store at your home or business.

If you smell gas…

If you every smell gas in or near your home, take the following steps immediately.

NO FLAMES OR SPARKS!
Immediately put out all smoking materials and other open flames. Do not operate lights, appliances, telephones, or cell phones. Flames or sparks from these sources can trigger an explosion or a fire.
LEAVE THE AREA IMMEDIATELY!
Get everyone out of the building or area where you suspect gas is leaking.
SHUT OFF THE GAS.
Turn off the main gas supply valve on your propane tank if it is safe to do so. To close the valve, turn it to the right (clockwise).
REPORT THE LEAK.
From a neighbor’s home or other nearby building away from the gas leak, call your propane retailer right away. If you can’t reach your propane retailer, call 911 or your local fire department.
DO NOT RETURN TO THE BUILDING OR AREA
Do not return to the building or area until your propane retailer, emergency responder, or qualified service technician determines that it is safe to do so.
GET YOUR SYSTEM CHECKED.
Before you attempt to use any of your propane appliances, your propane retailer or a qualified service technician must check your entire system to ensure that it is leak-free.

Residential Propane System

It is important to become familiar with the parts of your propane system so that you can take quick and appropriate action in case of a leak or other emergency. The illustration at left shows a typical home propane system.

Residential Propane System

Propane is delivered to your home as a very cold liquid and is pumped into a specially designed storage tank (A). The liquid changes to gas before it leaves the tank. Propane tanks are typically painted white or silver to reflect heat and prevent the pressure inside the tank from getting too high.

If you have an underground tank, only the cover (B) will be visible above ground.

The cover on top of the tank protects several components from weather and physical damage, including:

The tank shut-off valve (C), which you can close to stop the flow of propane to your home in case of a leak or other emergency.
The regulator (D), which controls the pressure of the propane gas coming out of the tank.
The safety relief valve (E), which will pop open automatically if the pressure inside the tank gets too high. The valve will close again when the pressure returns to normal.
The tank gauge (F), which shows the percentage of propane in the tank.
WARNING – Never lock the tank cover. A lock will prevent you or emergency personnel from accessing the tank shut-off value during an emergency. The tank cover is designed to provide physical protection to the components on the tank, not to prevent access.

Propane flows from your tank to your home through pipes (G), most of which run underground.

You may also have a secondary pressure regulator (H) on an outside wall of your home to further adjust gas pressure.

A shut-off valve (I) in each pipe can be closed to stop gas flow to an individual appliance.

An appliance connector (J) is the final segment in the gas piping system. This specially designed flexible tube—typically 2 or 3 feet long—carries gas from a pipe to the back of an appliance (K).

We know your home runs 24 hour a day, 7 days a week. So do we! We are available 7/24 to assist will problems, schedule emergency fills or anything else needed to keep your home running smoothly. If you ever have any questions or safety concerns about your propane system, please feel free to call. We take safety very seriously and are always happy to help!

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