Decisive action part of success in Glenmont propane leak

Quick response and decisive action according to the hazardous material spill game plan helped squelch any possible environmental issues in a recent mishap in Holmes County.

Holmes County Emergency Management Agency was notified April 1 by the Richland Township Fire Department of a propane leak at the property located at 219 Garland St. in Glenmont. The issue at hand was a large tree had fallen on a 500-gallon propane tank, damaging the tank and causing a leak.

Quick response time and a concerted team effort among a trio of entities helped ensure everyone within the immediate area remained safe.

“It was a strong joint effort — that’s for sure,” Richland Township Fire Department Chief Jeff Wells said. “It was satisfying to know that we had a plan in place and it worked so well. I thought everyone involved did a tremendous job of responding to a challenging situation.”

The occurrence was reported at 3:26 a.m., with the Richland Township Fire Department en route to respond at 3:36 a.m. The department was on scene and had the issue resolved at 6:04 a.m.

The tank was at 80% capacity at the time of the fire department’s response and was at 55% capacity by the end of the response.

The fire department acted quickly, evacuating residents door by door, a process that consisted of approximately 17 area residents.

The Richland Township Fire Department, American Red Cross and Holmes County EMA, led by specialist Jordan Tschiegg, quickly joined employees at the school for assistance, and the evacuation process consisted of helping the evacuees to set up temporary residence in the former Glenmont Elementary school building.

One of the positives in the experience, if there is one in waking up residents at 4 a.m., is the fire department team knows the area so well that having someone the residents know come knocking at that early morning hour served as a comforting factor.

“Our guys were great, and everyone was very understanding of what was going on and what was at stake,” Wells said. “It is good knowing that our firefighters know the community so well it made the transition easier. Our goal was to initially make sure everyone was safe, and after taking care of the tank, our aim was to get everyone safely back into their homes as soon as possible.”

Troyer Gas Company responded to the scene and said they could not stop the leak due to the extensive damage to the tank valves. Troyer Gas Company transported the damaged tank to a rural field to let it offload. Once the tank was removed from the residential area, the fire department checked all evacuated basements and found no readings of propane in the residences. The fire department also flushed nearby sewer drains with water, which allowed residents to return home without any further incident.

Holmes County EMA Director Jason Troyer contacted the OEPA Emergency Spill Line. After conversing with Kurt Kollar of Ohio EPA, it was determined there was no need for an OEPA response nor to send a report to OEPA.

According to Troyer, propane is a clean gas, and the amount that was leaked will not hurt the environment.

“This is why we develop our emergency plans, for situations just like this,” Troyer said. “Richland Township did a really good job of identifying the situation and communicating and evacuating, and they worked hand in hand with Troyer Gas Co. in utilizing their expertise in assessing and taking care of the situation.”

That communication led them to remove the tank out of the residential area and transport it to an open field area away from residents, where they were able to allow the remaining propane to be emitted harmlessly.

Troyer said the department did a great job of quickly and professionally flushing the storm sewers and checking for any propane remnants.

The Richland Township Fire Department was able to ensure residents’ safety by doing an air-monitoring check and found all of the homes to be absent of any propane, allowing them to return.

“It all took place fairly quickly, and from the initial response to the return of residents, it all went according to how we would hope, which is exciting because that meant it was well organized and by the book,” Troyer said. “The key was the fire department because it is their call, and Chief Wells and his guys did a remarkable job of doing everything the right way.”

Troyer said while people were certainly alarmed and upset at being woken up in the early morning hours, the alternative of a lack of proper response would have been far worse in what he said could have been a very bad situation because of the weather at the time keeping the escaping propane low to the ground.

The fallen tree is something that comes from nature, and Troyer said that could happen anywhere, and it was unavoidable. What was avoidable was letting the situation get out of hand, something that thankfully didn’t take place.

What could have been a dangerous situation was taken care of because of the local planning that took place between the EMA and the local fire departments.