IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION FOR LP GAS CUSTOMERS

Dear Valued LP Gas Customer:

While LP gas (propane) is a very safe and reliable heat source, like all gas, if it leaks, it can cause injury, death, and property damage. As your LP gas provider, we take your safety seriously. Therefore, we use this information to remind you of safety procedures you must follow to ensure that you and your family are safe when using LP gas.

You and your family must read this information and our brochure entitled “Important Propane Safety Information.” Keep it nearby and periodically reread it. Failure to follow the safety precautions in this communication and the mentioned brochure could result in a gas explosion and fire or death by asphyxiation from carbon monoxide (CO) produced from appliances which are not operating or vented properly. We can provide copies of the brochure at your convenience (we mail these once a year, as well). 

Below are several precautions that are in the brochure that we want to highlight:

If you smell LP gas, if you think you hear gas escaping, or if a gas detector is alarming,

• Call your propane retailer from a neighbor’s home or other nearby building or use your cell phone from a safe location outside the premises and away from the gas leak area.
• CALL 911 or your local fire department if you can’t reach your propane retailer,
• Do not re-enter the building or area until your propane retailer or safety personnel tell you it is safe.
• Before you attempt to use any of your propane appliances, your propane retailer or a qualified service technician must check your entire gas piping system to ensure that it is leak free.

LP gas can cause injury, death, or property damage if it leaks and ignites. To prevent this, do the following:

• Everyone in your family should scratch and sniff the blue circle within the mentioned brochure. Learn what LP gas smells like.
• Buy, install, and maintain at least one LP gas detector per manufacturer’s instructions, which is designed to alarm when gas has leaked. This is because there are some situations where you may not be able to smell LP gas. If alarm goes off, take the same precautions as if you smell gas.

Exposure to Carbon Monoxide (CO) can cause injury or death. To prevent this, do the following:

• Buy, install, and maintain a Carbon Monoxide detector per manufacturer’s instructions, which is designed to alarm when CO is detected. This is because you typically cannot taste or smell CO, which is produced from appliances that are not operating properly.
• Everyone in your home should be aware of the symptoms of CO, including Headache, Dizziness, Fatigue, Shortness of breath and Nausea.
• If you or a family member shows physical symptoms of CO poisoning, get everyone out of the building and call 911 or your local fire department.
• Do not try to repair, modify, or alter your propane piping system or connected appliances. Only allow qualified personnel to work on it.
• DO NOT attempt to relight any pilot lights. If a pilot light has gone out there may be a safety problem. Call your propane retailer to relight all pilots or contact a qualified service technician to perform service or maintenance on your propane appliances.
• AVOID RUNNING OUT OF GAS. Safety hazards, including fire or explosion can result.

If you have run out of LP gas or your service has been interrupted, call us immediately at 217-762-2133 so that we can come out and inspect your gas piping and check for leaks. Arrangements then can be made to relight the pilot lights by a qualified technician.

If you have run out of gas, you need to do the following:

• Close the service valve on your LP gas tank.
• Shut off all gas valves for appliances that use LP gas.

In addition, you can learn more about safety precautions that need to be taken for safe use of LP gas in your home or business at http://propane.com/safety/. This website contains a link to a product safety brochure and a product safety manual with extensive information on propane safety. To educate your kids on propane safety, go to http://propanekids.com/.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU SMELL PROPANE, SUSPECT A LEAK, OR AN ALARM SOUNDS

• IMMEDIATELY evacuate the structure or area to a safe distance.
• Extinguish all smoking materials and open flames or sources of ignition.
• DO NOT operate any electric switches, thermostats, or appliances.
• DO NOT use your house telephone. (If you are now using your house telephone, set it down (do not hang up), call us on another telephone from a safe area, and exit the structure).
• DO NOT attempt repairs.
• Once everyone is outside and if it is safe to do so, you should turn off the shutoff valve(s) on the propane supply container(s), or at the meter.

• DO NOT allow anyone except qualified gas professionals or emergency response personnel to enter the building until a complete inspection has determined if there is a gas leak, and if so, that the building has been properly ventilated and that the leak is repaired.
• Have a qualified LP-gas technician test the piping system and repair any leaks, then check and re-light all of your gas appliances.

KNOW THE “ODOR” OF PROPANE

• Each family member should know the smell of propane. (A disagreeable odor has been added to propane so you can detect propane’s presence).
• Ask your propane delivery driver or other company representative to demonstrate its odor.
• Under some of the following conditions, you may not smell a gas leak - so it is recommended you buy, install, and maintain at least one propane gas detector in accordance with manufacturer’s instructions.
  • Some individual’s sense of smell may be impaired and are unable to detect the smell of gas.
  • Colds, allergies, sinus congestion, and the use of tobacco, alcohol, or drugs may diminish your sense of smell.
  • Cooking odors or other strong odors can cover-up the smell of gas.
  • On rare-occasions, propane gas may lose its distinctive odor. This is called “odor fade”. Air, water, and rust in propane tanks or cylinders may weaken the gas odor especially if the valves were left open after the container has been emptied.

REMEMBER

• Call a qualified technician to test your propane piping system for leaks and re-light pilots when your propane service has been interrupted.
• Repeated pilot outages could indicate a hazardous condition. Call a qualified technician to check the appliance.
• Propane is heavier than air and can collect initially at floor level. To check for propane, carefully smell all over the room, especially in low spaces.
• Always be sensitive to the slightest gas odor. Any type of a gas odor may signal a serious propane gas leak.
• If a propane gas detector has sounded an alarm, IMMEDIATELY follow steps above for “What to do if an alarm sounds.”
• Always have a qualified technician investigate all foul odors. What you think may be garbage, sewage or a dead mouse may be a serious propane gas leak.
• DO NOT let your propane system run out of propane.