For the second time since March 5, residents and staff of a Maine nursing home have been evacuated due to a strong propane gas smell. Propane has an additive in it that has a strong odor as a way of signaling a possible leak.
The first time the odor was reported, fire crews from seven areas responded and quickly shut down the propane tanks used to heat and run the nursing home. The facility’s maintenance staff closed the valves inside the building before the firefighters arrived.
During the March incident, fire crews checked all areas below ground due to the odor being found in a crawl space area under the first floor. They also checked the entire building but found no elevated levels of gas inside the building. Staff first reported an elevated reading on the building’s meters, and the Assistant Fire Chief said that those meters may have been giving a false elevated reading. The chief offered praise for how the nursing home staff had responded to the incident.
In this second call, firefighters also used gas detection meters to determine if gas was present in the building, and again the chief indicated that no leak was found, and no propane detected. The fuel service company sent a service technician in response to the alarm, and he conducted a pressure test of the system and found no leak.
As a precautionary measure and in response to directives from the emergency crew, residents in the area where the smell was detected were moved to another area of the facility.
Compliance Perspective
Although a nursing home may have an effective emergency response plan, having to evacuate residents repeatedly due to the presence of a propane gas odor may indicate the need to take more proactive steps to determine the source of the odor and make correction. Residents may experience unnecessary stress and anxiety from being evacuated twice within a short timeframe. Evacuations could result in harm to fragile residents and might be considered failure of administration to effectively and efficiently use its resources to attain or maintain the highest practicable physical, mental, and psychosocial wellbeing of all residents.
Discussion Points:
- Review policies and procedures regarding regular inspection and maintenance of propane tanks and ensure that any connections to those tanks are correctly sealed to prevent leaking. Consider replacement if propane tanks and pipes used to carry propane into the facility are aging.
- Train staff regarding the care needed to protect residents who are particularly fragile should an evacuation be necessary.
- Periodically audit to determine if regular inspections and maintenance protocols are followed to ensure that propane tanks and their connections are sealed to prevent leaks. Consider replacement if there is evidence of aging and/or possible deterioration of the tanks, pipes, and/or connectors.
