Propane Tank Explodes After Amish Woman Lights Heater, Blows Wall Off Phone Booth
Fortunately, the Amish woman was okay. But it had to be a scary experience – and a reminder of the dangers of certain fuels commonly used by Amish for light and heat.
This happened in the Bloomfield, Iowa Amish settlement. It appeared in a brief report at the Bloomfield Democrat:
A busy week of fire calls for Davis County firefighters culminated with an explosion Monday morning in an Amish phone booth at 18001 Fawn Avenue.
Bloomfield and Drakesville Fire Departments responded to the call to find that a leaking LP cylinder in the phone booth exploded when a woman ignited a heater to warm up the shed.
Bloomfield Fire Chief Jeff McClure reported the south wall of the building was “blown out” in the explosion. The woman was not injured in the incident.
How did this happen?
If you’re relatively new to the Amish and scratching your head at the idea of an “Amish phone booth” exploding, there is an explanation.
Many Amish use phone shanties or “booths” as it is described in this story. These small structures provide access to a phone, but keep it outside the home, to restrict its usage somewhat.
It is a way of controlling the technology, as the Amish don’t think it is “evil”, but acknowledge that it is useful and often even necessary.
Going to the phone – which might be in a building near the home, or even a walk down the lane – is a daily activity for many Amish people. A single family might have their own phone, or it may be shared by multiple families.
They will make necessary calls (e.g., to arrange an Amish taxi driver or to relatives), and check messages left for them (most will have a voicemail set up).
And if you’re going to be in there for a little while, living in a place with cold winters like Iowa, you would do well to have a heat source inside. Thus the heater in the phone booth.
Dangers of some Amish heating sources
The ways of heating and lighting homes will vary by the Amish group. This generally depends on how traditional or progressive a given group is. Some fuels and methods are seen as “plainer”.
Liquid propane is one fuel seen pretty often in Amish homes. It shows up in the smaller portable tanks – used for wheeled living room lighting in some homes, as in this photo…
…as well as the large tanks situated outside the homes, like in this photo:
I spoke with Lancaster County Amishman Ben Riehl about this fuel source in a video on the topic (embedded at bottom), and he acknowledged that these propane tanks “are not exactly the safest things in the world”, but that with “common sense” they can be okay.
We talked about how propane in its natural state has no odor, but that the odor is added so that leaks can be detected.
I assume the Amish woman in this incident in Iowa did not notice the smell, however, which is a bit puzzling. “It takes quite a mass to actually create an explosion,” Ben explains. “I mean it takes more than a small leak.”
We also talked about the use of kerosene, which is more commonly seen in plainer Amish groups.
Ben says that “kerosene is much more difficult,” adding that “it’s probably not quite as explosive right away, but if you put kerosene on a hot fire, it’s very very explosive, it’s more explosive than propane or gasoline.”
Explosion
Perhaps she didn’t detect a leak b/c she’s suffering from a cold and her sense of smell is being affected?? Or perhaps she’s an older person?? My late grandma used to rely on me or a neighbor to tell her when her trash needed removing from her kitchen. Thank goodness nobody was hurt. I don’t even wanna think of the trauma burns can cause. She must’ve had an angel on her shoulder.
Important Structure
I’ve been to Bloomfield, Iowa, dozens of times, driving Amish families, mostly to doctoring appointments. It’s a decent-sized settlement and fairly modern as Old Order communities go.
Those phone shacks play an important part in Amish lives, more than most people realize.
For many Amish, that tiny building is their connection to the outside world. Taxi drivers, especially. My thoughts turned to the list of taxi drivers likely tacked to the wall inside that booth. In many communities, we are the first call when something goes wrong — an injury, a difficult pregnancy, a child with a high fever. Unless it’s immediately life-threatening, most will call a driver before they call an ambulance. They don’t carry conventional medical insurance.
Some Amish communities allow a form of heat in their phone shacks; others don’t. In my area, most don’t. When calling Amish in the cold winter months and leaving a message (if they even have an answering machine), I make it quick – I’d hate to be responsible for someone freezing in their phone shack on my account.
I’m grateful this story ended the way it did — with a blown-out wall instead of a life. And it’s a reminder that even the simplest systems still carry risk.