So this is how my day went yesterday: I was planning on driving the '64 C10 over to a buddies house about 30 miles away to pick up some tools and ladders that I need to fix my roof in the garage (leaking very little, but enough for me to have to put some new shingles up in that area). I walk the whole two blocks home from work (long, shitty day) and open the back gate to get into the back yard. Keep in mind this gate is about 50 feet from the back of the house and I start to smell a gas.. not gasoline... natural gas... I am thinking "great, just something else piled onto a shitty day" I walked 5 feet over to the BBQ and make sure my nose wasn't just fooled and it was just propane leaking from the regulator.... nope. As I approach the house the smell is getting stronger and since the meter is right by the back door I figure that it must be leaking... my response... "well that changes my plans." I open the door and wham.... the smell of natural gas hits me like a brick wall... In the background I could hear the stove burner hissing... At this point I am thinking of what happened a couple months ago about a half mile north of us in Indianapolis. What I am referring to is where a couple purposely turned on their stove and let the house fill with natural gas, which caused and explosion that leveled an entire neighborhood and killed several people all for the home insurance money... I had to decide what to do in a hurry.... If I should stand back, shut the gas off to the whole house and call 911 or go in the two feet to shut the stove gas off with the shut-off valve, thus cutting off the source. Both were equally risky as the house was already filled with gas, the surrounding air that was already present inside and outside was saturated with NG even 50 feet away from the house... Why my retired neighbors across the street couldn't smell it with the windows opened ALL the time is beyond me.. I figured if it was going to blow up I wouldn't know it because I would be immediately killed anyway.. I also didn't want my neighbors or others killed because of this thing going off, and in the process destroying everything I owned, including demolishing the garage where my HAMB friendly vehicles sit... At this point I am okay with losing my things, including vehicles because no amount of material goods is worth my life. The deciding factor: my one year old dog was in there. She got me through several tough times in my life and was always there for me. She is one of my few best friends or friends in general I am not really a religious man and don't pray usually, but in this case I thought it was appropriate. I take off my shoes, socks, and pants, say "f#$% me", and walk in the back door... I shut off the stoves source open a nearby window to get a draft going and call my dog... No response..... I walk back outside knowing that she is probably dead and I didn't know how I was going to tell my wife, who is even more attached to that dog than I am. I let the house air out for about 15 minutes, walk back in and start opening other windows and eventually the front door. The house still has a ton of gas in it, but I am getting a little more brave each time because I have to clear it out before something lights what's left. I still haven't found the dog yet, even after calling her over and over. Finally, after about 1/2 an hour of downstairs being open and somewhat aired out to the point where I can at least get some oxygen I venture upstairs to the inevitable body that I will come upon. I make it up the stairs and it is just as bad as it was downstairs originally. I call again, no response... I walk into the bedroom and there she is lying on the bed, ears back, giving me the I am scared look. I tell her to get outside and she darts downstairs, out the front door and down the street..... GREAT.... At this point I am thankful she is still alive, follow her outside, and call her to come back. She runs to me, detours from me opens the back gate and lays down in the backyard as flat as a pancake knowing that she is in trouble... The look: I am guilty and I am sorry look that dogs give. She was trying to get to her treat jar on the counter and inadvertently pushed the gas burner on, bypassed the lighter and had it on high for God knows how long. She got scared, found a newspaper and tore it up into tiny pieces of confetti and ran upstairs. Fast forward to a few hours later.... I being thankful that everything is okay and that the day turned out to be a good one despite what had happened... I took my dog in her first car ride in the '64 and we cruised for about a half an hour last night enjoying life. I am thankful for this hobby and the company of my little buddy. Last night was an eye opener of what could have happened and am thankful that hot rods are a part of my life so I can spread my joy and love of the hobby to others. Thanks for reading.
I'm glad everything worked out! My boxer did the same thing last year! I came home to the whole house full of gas and the stove hissing. You would think it would be harder to turn these things on. Definitely not safe if kiddos are around.
Wow man, that's a hell of a story. You had me on the edge of my seat there for a minute or too. I was bracing myself for the tragedy of finding your dog dead. I'm glad everybody is alright. Whew! I know I would be heartbroken if something happened to one of my dogs. There is not too many things better than a good dog and an old truck.
Boy, it seems in the end, you did everything right ! I am glad it turned out OK, and your doggy is OK as well... No one really realizes the intricit part of the family the dog really is....Until .... I had a similar issue a few years back. I made the grand mistake, after realizing my pipes in the basement where leaking at the joints.... ( why all of a sudden I have no idea) I called the gas company.... BIG MISTAKE !!! I didn't want to break the seal on the meter and land up behind bars while they use me as a poster child for stealing gas.... They came out, shut the gas off at the street, took my meter, and left me taking cold showers for the next few days while I replumbed my house.
I stepped into the back porch one day about 3 years ago and heard a loud hissing. Looked by the house and the flowers around the gas meter were blowing all over the place. Called the gas company. They came out, shut off the gas somehwere and dug down to replace a 3 foot piece of pipe under the ground which fed the meter. They tested the pressure and relit all the appliances and went on their way. The pipe had been there since the house was built in 1975.
I called Whirlpool (it is a really expensive oven/stove that is stainless). I explained my situation of how the house almost burned down and asked if there was a safety feature that was broken on the stove/burners that I needed to fix OR if there was something that I could use to fix it. They informed me that "It is working how it should!"..... I flipped my lid.....my response was less than professional.... The toned down part was "If it was working how it should then my house would not have been filled with NG, nearly killing everyone within a one block radius." I guess I will have to do some research and work on something to child proof this thing. No doubt, my Dad says it is my Grandpa that passed away when my Dad was 14. He loved old cars, so much in fact that he bought a brand new 1961 Corvair Wagon... got it home, and proceeded to dismantle it so he knew how everything went together. My Grandma was less than satisfied and tells the story fondly. The brand new car was dismantled for 3 months or so before he put it back together. The car lasted for a long time though I agree, I stopped by a Jack in the Box and got her a plain burger and we ate in the truck together. Lesson learned: dog treats in another location.
I forgot to add, when opening all closets/doors to make sure all of the gas was out I found that the water heater (within 3 hours of me taking lunch) took a dump... it left about 2-5 gallons of water on the floor.. The ride was needed and worth it with the dog.
If there had been damage, injury or death, they should have been sued for negligence (negligent failure to inspect). Never mind inspecting or testing it on a schedule, their (and local water and sewer line owners) feeling seems to be, we'll put the pipe in the ground, and we'll be out to fix it after it fails (in 20 or 50 or 100 years).
I'd pop the handles off and leave 'em in a drawer until needed. Never been better to read about an anti-climactic outcome.
Wow, that is a bit scary. It's always good to take your dog out for a burger in the truck though. I rolled though the drive through at Burger King In Hood River. Or one night with my Aussie Harley and ordered myself a combo and a plain burger and bottle of water for him and when we got to the window one kid working there yells out to the other one "see I told you he had a dog".
What we would do four our 4 legged friends, I know a few friends [tough guys] but when it comes to there animals there are the other way [ not so tough] and would do anything for there animals . thanks for sharing
It was about 2:00 A.M., a Friday night. I awoke and smelled natural gas...(scary when you wake up from a sound sleep) Our bedroom is on the West side of the house, with my #2 driveway right outside...I was up, opened the door to the hall, and it was THICK with the gas smell... My wife was still asleep, and my 3-year old Chocolate Lab, Annie, was right there, at my side. We walked into the kitchen, and 2 burners were turned on at the stove...No fire, just turned halfway on... Annie got the big guilt slump, looking away...I turned the knobs off, opened doors and windows, the gas was so thick the air looked green! LOL I asked Annie: "What did you do...?" She damned near told me! She pointed toward the stove, then started barking...(same bark she uses when I let her taste something I'm cooking..."More, Dad!") Turning on the lights, I could see a couple of brown hairs near the knobs... I could hear her thinking: "Daddy turns these, then we're eating." Joey (my wife) came in, asked "How come it smells like gas?" Told her I wanted to end it all, she didn't believe me... All I had to do was motion toward Annie, and Joey says "Pop the handles off, put 'em on top of the fridge..." I wouldn't have told this story, as it just couldn't happen to anybody... Thanks, Guys. Glad to get this off my chest. That Annie!
The only difference at my house if that happened is the chronology of events. My beagle would have torn up the newspaper into little bits just for the hell of it and then when he was bored with that he would have gone for the dog treats.
Hey! don't be blowin' up all that chevy stuff. That much natural gas would have sent it all the way over to my place. What am I going to do with GOOD parts like that?
When I lived on a sailboat we had propane for the stove and had a solenoid at the tank. When you wanted to use the stove,you flipped a switch to turn the gas on,then flipped it off when done. On a boat stove there was no pilot light though,but you could use something like that as a safety item possibly
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