If you aren't careful, the hissing of a propane tank can be the last noise you hear, and that's why the Kronenwetter Fire Department hosted departments from around the area to learn how to deal with propane fires.
Luke Van Noie, the lead instructor for Fire LLC, the company sponsoring the training, said, "Show firefighters how they can safely mitigate the situation to extinguish the fire safely, and stop gas from leaking from those types of cylinders."
Van Noie says that propane fires are rare, and that means hands-on training opportunities like this are too, saying, "Due to the safety installed inside propane tanks and propane companies and propane drivers, these accidents and leaks are so rare, that firefighters don't get the opportunity to extinguish these fires on a regular basis."
And as is the case with most rural areas, people in Kronenwetter rely on propane to heat their homes, something at the top of Chief Theresa O'Brien's mind.
O'Brien said, "We still have a lot of rural areas that have propane feeding their homes, so if they have a house fire, or even if a fire starts around their propane tank, we need to learn how to handle those."
So if your next barbecue starts to get out of hand, your local fire department will be ready.
