Propane Safety

Protect your family and your home

Boehlke Bottled Gas is a family-owned, locally-based business that has been serving Milwaukee and communities all over southeastern Wisconsin since 1938. Our customers are our neighbors, and we care about you.

We show that care in our dedication to safe propane delivery and services to homes, businesses and farms. And we want you to understand more about using propane safely so that you can enjoy all of the benefits of propane without worry.

First of all, you need to know what propane smells like. It smells like rotten eggs. That may make you wonder, does propane go bad? No, it doesn’t go bad. Nor does it actually have any smell. The rotten-egg smell is from an odorant added to let leaks be detected more easily.

What to do if you smell gas

Thanks to strong regulations and high propane-industry standards, the fuel has a strong safety record. But you still need to know how to protect yourself if you smell gas, whether it’s in your home or anywhere else around gas equipment.

The following steps are critical to protecting lives and property and must be taken as soon as you smell gas.

• Put out any sources of ignition, like candles or cigarettes.
• Get out of the house IMMEDIATELY.
• Don’t use any light switches, thermostats, telephones or appliances until you are safely out of the house and away from the area where you smell gas.
• If you can get to it safely, close the gas shutoff valve on the propane tank or cylinder.
• Once you are a safe distance away, call 911 and Boehlke Bottled Gas.
• Give emergency personnel and the qualified propane service technicians time to check for escaped propane gas and do any repairs.
• Do not go back to the area where the leak was, or try to turn on the propane supply valve, even if you no longer smell gas.
• Have a trained propane service technician repair the leak, carefully inspect all gas appliances and relight all pilots.
• Wait until you have permission from emergency personnel or the service technician before going back.

Want more propane safety tips? The Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) has created the informative videos below to tell you all about propane safety!

Count on Boehlke Bottled Gas and our safety-focused team of propane professionals. Become a customer today!