ROCKLAND — A few of the neighbors within the area of Beech Street were trying to be helpful last Wednesday as the Rockland Fire Department dealt with a propane leak at the valve site of an underground propane tank. Those neighbors wanted to move their vehicles out of the way so that RFD could better access the situation. Though the helpful intent is not lost on those firefighters, propane leaks will always be unnerving to those who remember Farmington. So, the thought of someone in Rockland turning a car ignition in such close proximity to fumes heightened the stress of an already stressful time.

“It’s not an option to start up an engine when we have an active leak,” said Rockland Fire Chief Chris Whytock.

Because of the calm demeanor of the fire department, neighbors may not have sensed the level of stress responders were facing.

On March 1, 2023, at approximately 5:30 p.m., staff of the Knox Center alerted its maintenance personnel to a subtle odor of propane in the kitchen. A mild odor can be expected near oven pilot lights, according to Whytock. Therefore, it would be another 30 minutes before maintenance arrived to the scene and opened a door to a much more obvious odor, leading to the 911 call, setting into motion an hours-long cordoning of the area between Limerock and Beech streets.

Essentially, the valve failed, according to Whytock, allowing the gas to flow past the cap. Firefighters could hear the hissing sound, and a definite odor hit the nostrils. But, the FD couldn’t quickly limit their investigation to that specific location on the Limerock side of the building. First, crews with detectors swept the property, verifying normal air quality readings within the section that houses the nursing home. And the kitchen. And Lindsey Brook, which runs directly underneath the facility. And the creek bed close to Limerock.

Back at the valve site, the situation was different.

“It’s actually very rare that we find readings as high as we did,” he said. “Thankfully, we don’t very often see that.”

There’s a threshold to operate in where the mixture isn’t completely ripe, so it’s not going to explode.

“We never were in that area where we actually had a potential for explosion,” he said. Yet, “it was a little more unnerving to see our meters actually picking up those readings.”

Meanwhile, the leak was getting worse. As they waited for the propane technician on call, who was on another service call in Thomaston, RFD began efforts to slow down the leak. They threw down wet rags around the leak zone.

Propane has a low boiling point, meaning that the gas itself is very cold when it comes into the atmosphere.

“So, if you give it something to freeze, then depending on how big the leak is, and how quick it is, sometimes that will allow us to stop the flow,” he said.

This time, it worked.

But then, they had to renew their detector readings around the grounds.

That evening, the fire department had four people on duty. They were limited in the traffic control that they could manage. The police helped, and when five or six more off-duty personnel responded eventually, the cordoned area was allowed to expand.

Kathy Ward lives on Beech Street and had returned from the grocery store to find a fire truck parked directly in front of her apartment. She was unable to get back to her house, and was unsure of where to park so that she wasn’t in the way. 

“Everyone who responded, that I did speak with, was very helpful and courteous,” she said. “It was freezing. It was slippery and yet not one complaint from anyone.”

Ward added that the fire department was extremely professional, helpful and dedicated. 

“That's definitely a department to be proud of,” she said.

Reach Sarah Thompson at news@penbaypilot.com