Sheriff considers change of plan

Smith told the Barrow Journal on Tuesday night that he heard about the incident while out of town and called county operations manager Bob Hohe to tell him to put everything on hold.

“My initial response is we would not move forward with the propane program,” said Smith.

He said when he gets back into town, he will review the federal grant documents and vendor contracts to see if he can cancel the project. The federal government is providing the county with about $270,000 to outfit the cars to be able to use propane as an alternative fuel.

The first year of fuel cost savings is projected to be $50,000-60,000, but Smith said he is concerned not only about the safety of his employees but also about any inmates or other people transported in the back of patrol cars.

He said if anyone had been in the back of the Jackson County deputy’s car, he likely would have died.

Deputy Gary Cox was traveling about 50 miles an hour response to a call, and when he lit a cigarette, the vehicle exploded. He jumped out and was later treated for first degree burns.

While the incident is under investigation, it appears that there was a propane gas leak that Cox did not detect.

Smith said only one of his department’s patrol cars has been outfitted with the bulletproof tank and other equipment that allows a driver to switch between gasoline and propane.

But he said he already has paid to have a propane tank installed near the county detention center for filling up the vehicles’ tanks.

“I don’t know my exact costs, because I am out of the office,” he said. “But I would rather pay $13,000-14,000 than $30-40 million when somebody burns up in a vehicle.”