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Scary stories highlight vulnerabilities

November 1, 2004 By    

I remember listening to ghost stories in front of a roaring campfire as a young boy. We would sit in wide-eyed wonder waiting quietly for that time when one scream, shriek or giggle would send us all two steps back in panic.

My aunt loved to tell the one about the “Man with the Golden Arm.” Even though we knew the story, we’d anxiously wait for that one uncertain part …because in the end we knew someone’s arm would get grabbed. “Give me back my golden arm!”

 Jay Johnston
Jay Johnston

By nature, scary stories always happen to someone else. We believe this because we cannot accept the reality of our own vulnerability.

When it comes to propane safety, some schmuck like me will relate a real experience to support safe prevention practices, and the universal reaction is to deny such exposures live in our neighborhood.

I want your golden goose

On Labor Day weekend four families held a fish-fry picnic. Picnic tables were placed inside a three-door metal garage with a cement floor. Ten feet inside the door was the propane-fueled deep-fryer. The garage doors were open.

While the fish fried, men stood around and young children playing tag would spin through, followed by a pack of very social dogs. Suddenly the gas ran out on the tank, which had an old PLO valve.

Some of the guys were talking about the equipment you can buy at the fleet farm store to fill your own. After much debate one guy suggested the hose would fit the new OPD tank by turning it the opposite way. They finally adjusted the bright yellow flame to lick up, just under the top of the boiling pot of oil.

We were all eating, when one of the group’s shorter females ran outside the garage and began to roll on the ground. She kept scratching at her back, ripping off hunks of coat and skin. We quickly iced the burns, cauterized them with hydrogen peroxide and applied triple antibiotic.

In truth, our burn victim was a German shorthair pointer. I’m glad to report she’s going to be OK. But, man, that had to hurt.

A few observations:

This could have been one of the small children, Grandma’s leg or my feet.

This could have been one of your propane customers, cooking inside with an illegally filled tank, trying to hook up your tank under the influence and in the dark.

A plaintiff’s attorney representing the interest of a burn victim is going to name your company in a lawsuit. He will want to go through all of your safety communications, asking what you gave your customer besides the gas and a receipt. Then he will shout, “I want your golden goose!”

The will-call customer

Imagine driving down a country road, when all of a sudden you see smoke. You pull up in time to see the fire department arrive, then you notice the name on the 500-gallon tank is yours.

Turns out old Joe Willcall moved, took the bedroom heater and skipped out on your unpaid propane bill. Suzy Assistance just rented the place and her boyfriend Bud Nowiser hooked up a 100-lb. cylinder, just to get her by.

It’s always impressive — and tragic — what 24 gallons of propane can do when the right amounts of fuel and air meet ignition.

That said, the scary part is seeing a jury and court award millions to the victims who were injured due to someone else’s stupidity.

You remember an article about communicating with customers on safety issues. You remember telling your safety guy to remind you to think about writing something.

Here you are, out for a ride with the family, when an attorney hands you his card and wants to know your name.

Now that’s a scary story.

Jay Johnston, who prefers to keep his golden goose, specializes in insurance audits, safety communications audits and high-impact safety presentations. He can be reached at 888-725-2705 or Jay@TheSafetyLeader.com.

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