How to meet the locals

Well.....

Last Saturday, I decided to drag out the propane tank for the grill/smoker. I had pulled it out of the back of the shed where it had been for a year and left it by the backyard gate to use later. It sat there while I went to the grocery store. When I got back I heard a noise as I was walking to the door. I looked over at the tank and decided the noise, a hissing sound was coming from it. Sure enough, it was expelling propane from the opposite end of the hook up, I could smell it. I didn't know what to do! So I tried hooking up the hose to the grill, and it screwed in the fitting crooked and that didn't help. I fiddled around with it and then I started getting worried about the thing exploding. I drug it away from the house and looked at the tank warnings. It said if I heard a noise to call the fire department. Geez, can't there be a better way? I thought about it and decided I better call. I called 911 and told the lady what I was dealing with and she said she would send the fire department over. I put the groceries away, drove down and opened the gate and waited. I thought, all my propane was all gonna leak out by the time anyone arrived! There goes my grilling plans! Guess I should have been worried about an explosion and not my dinner..... A white truck drove by, backed up and then came up the drive, I walked out to meet a young guy with a fire dept plate on the front of his truck and a logo on his shirt. I told him what was going one. He asked for a wrench to get my crooked fitting off the hook up and then a screw driver to turn the RELEASE VALVE and let the pressure out of the tank. He explained what the valve was for and what probably happened. The tank sat out in the sun and the heat caused pressure to build up. He fixed the hook up and said that should take care of it. About that time a fire truck slowly came up the drive. I felt foolish. But the fire truck driver, an older gentleman dressed in casual wear said it was better I heard something rather than not and me ending up somewhere over in the woods after an explosion. We discussed the very hot weather and then they left. Turns out I didn't use the tank but used charcoal instead for my grilling. The tank ended up leaking pressure again and I knew what to do. I don't plan to use the tank....