CGIs Provide Opportunity for Propane Marketers to Build Fire Department Ties

COLUMBIA STATION, Ohio (May 6, 2026) — Propane marketers have a unique opportunity to build a strong relationship with their local fire departments with a simple, cost-effective device that saves lives: a combustible gas indicator. Also known as CGIs, combustible gas indicators are a handheld device that provides a readout of percent of gas in air, or in parts per million, depending on how it is configured. 

This information can be used to determine whether firefighters should enter a structure or not if there is a potential gas leak involving propane. The CGI provides firefighters a crucial opportunity to know the concentration of gas in air before it reaches the flammability range. 

This device differs from a combustible gas detector, or CGD, which only alerts whether there is the presence of gas in the air, not what the percentage mix of gas and air is. A CGI is roughly three times the size of a common cellphone and costs about $1,200, according to Bob Herron, owner and president of Safety Training and More, LLC, who coordinates fire service training for the Ohio Propane Gas Association (OPGA). 

On behalf of OPGA, Herron recently presented CGIs to the Duncan Falls/Wayne Township and Columbia Township fire departments in Ohio. 

“You turn the CGI on in a clear area and then you walk slowly to where there might be gas and it gives you readings,” Herron said. “It’s almost as essential as a fire truck would be. Both protect lives. It’s a good thing to have for any fire department.” 

Mike Walters, vice president of safety and fleet for Superior Energy Systems (SES), made the CGI presentation at the Columbia Township Fire Department on behalf of OPGA along with Derek Rimko, company vice president of operations. 

“Education is everything,” Walters said of the opportunity propane marketers have to share a CGI with a local fire department. “As an industry, we should be proactive. It’s important for the fire service to know that we’re here to help them and we’re willing to teach them about propane.” 

Through the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) Partnership with States grant program for first responder training, state propane gas associations can purchase combustible gas indicators to use during their training and then donate them to the fire department after training concludes. 

Contact information for the combustible gas indicator manufacturer must be provided to the fire department for any further training needs. Propane marketers should contact their state association to see if it participates in this key PERC program, and how it can get involved in training with local fire departments.