Propane-fuelled vehicles and multi-residential building storage risk : examining the frequency of propane-fuelled structure and vehicle fires

Summary: There are 2.7 million vehicles on the road in British Columbia [1], and 99.7% of them are fuelled by either diesel or gasoline. The remaining 0.3% of the vehicles on the road are fuelled either by electricity, natural gas, propane or an 85% ethanol/gasoline blend. Importantly, while there are many reasons to support the use of propane as an alternative fuel, the focus of this report is based on an on-going matter of policy regarding the parking of vehicles that are fuelled by propane in underground parking areas. There is a concern over policy in North America associated with fire-risk with the storage of propane-fuelled vehicles in the underground storage areas of multi-residential buildings. This research note explores this issue from a quantitative perspective, examining data provided by the British Columbia (BC) Office of the Fire Commissioner (OFC) to retrospectively examine the frequency of propane-related fire incidents that occurred in multi-residential buildings.