As warmer weather becomes more evident, many people will be eager to start their annual grilling season.  The area has many propane grills which are used for a large part of the year, until cold weather puts them to bed.  

Propane is the primary gas used to power portable grills for most people.  The grills are generally very safe, but the cylinders may fail, or cooking grease may create a fire hazard.  So, before we fire them up, let’s talk about safety.

Propane is an odorless and colorless gas. The odor you smell is an additive, one of which is called mercaptan.  This additive is what makes the “rotten egg” smell associated with propane and natural gas. Propane expands rapidly when released from a container, making the fire danger even greater.  Propane is heavier than air, and when released, it will drop to the level of the ground, or below grade if it can enter.  A leaking propane cylinder is very dangerous.

Many residents have gas grills on their decks. If this is true, we recommend placing them as far away from your home as possible. If there is a leak, the propane will fall to ground level.  If you have a basement or crawl space, and there is a way for the propane to enter, it will.  In many basements and crawl spaces, there are furnaces or other potential ignition sources.  If a cloud of propane enters that area, is in the proper ratio to air and finds an ignition source, it will ignite, causing fire.

Additionally, many newer decks are made from composite materials, which are hydrocarbon (fuel based), and will readily ignite causing the fire to spread rapidly.  If attached to a home with vinyl siding (also a hydrocarbon), the fire can extend (spread) to the siding of the structure causing a potential house fire.

So, what should you do if the drill catches fire?  If you are able, close the cover (if open); if possible, turn the knob to the off position and try to close the cylinder.  Call 9-1-1 before trying to extinguish the fire yourself.  Evacuate the home in case of fire spread.  A dry chemical fire extinguisher may extinguish the flames.  A garden hose will generally fail to control the fire, especially if the gas remains on.  The FD will respond and will deploy hose line(s) flowing over 100 gallons per minute to extinguish the fire.  Often, we use two hoses, one to cool the cylinder and the other to extinguish the flames.  Garden hoses flow at approximately 10-14 gallons per minute, well below what the FD will use.

We hope you find this information helpful.  If your business, organization or HOA would like additional information on this or any other fire safety topic, please contact our Community Outreach Team at: [email protected] or    [email protected]