Smoke damage without a fire?

So here’s a weird thing that happened a couple of months ago.

We got a call about smoke damage.

(That’s not the weird part.)

The weird part is that this house never had a fire. Instead, all that smoke in the house came from something outside.

Here’s what happened:

This house is heated by propane. And if you’ve ever lived somewhere heated by propane (or used a propane grill), you’ve probably seen the regulator mounted on the outside of it. The job of the regulator is to take the high-pressure propane coming out of the tank and step it down to the low, steady pressure your appliances need to burn cleanly (kind of like the pressure reducer on a garden hose).

But regulators don’t last forever. Seals can crack and leak, moisture inside can freeze in extreme cold, and internal parts can stiffen over time. When that happens, the regulator doesn’t work like it’s supposed to, and the gas that reaches your appliances comes in at the wrong pressure.

In this house, two furnaces and a fireplace ran off the same propane tank. Same tank, same failed regulator - which meant that all three started burning poorly at the same time.

So instead of heating the house like they normally would, the furnaces and the fireplace began dumping smoke into the house. And because the furnaces were tied into the ductwork, the smoke carried through every vent, spreading soot into rooms nowhere near the fireplace.

When something goes wrong at home, we usually expect the cause of the and the damage to show up in the same place. But that’s not always how it works.

So when it comes to fire safety, don’t just check things inside the house, like electrical wiring, fireplaces, and kitchen appliances. If you run on propane, ask your propane company to check the regulator when they come out - especially if yours has been on the tank for more than ten years.

Questions about what else to check periodically to keep your home safe from events like this? Give me a call anytime - I’m always happy to help.

Take care,

Stephen

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Stephen Simmons

Owner | Umpire Mitigation

Call or text us 24/7 at 703-665-1129

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