Contraband!
courtesy of Me
My darling fiancée was working our booth at the Downtown Holiday Market and was told to turn off and put away our portable propane heater. If you’ve ever sat mostly still in freezing weather you’ll understand just how horrific a request this is. It seems the DC fire marshal was going from booth to booth looking for them, supposedly because their use requires a permit. This was news to us, having used it for the last four years, and a little distressing since there was a tall standing heater just 15 feet away that the market management had put up for customers.
However a look around the DCGOV website eventually turned up this FAQ item on the DC fire and emergency medical services website. Sure enough, a $25 permit is required for up to 200lb of propane. Since our heater uses 5lb canisters I will admit to being a little peeved about it, but I am going to call tomorrow and see how specific the permit is. Perhaps I can simply buy one for all of us merchants…. and later ask exactly why the holiday market management didn’t pull one for all of us as part of our $150 a day booth fee.
Well I used to say something in my profile about not quite being a “tinker, tailor, soldier, or spy” but Tom stole that for our about us page, so I guess I’ll have to find another way to express that I am a man of many interests.
Hmm, guess I just did.
My tastes run the gamut from sophomoric to Shakespeare and in my “professional” life I’ve sold things, served beer, written software, and carried heavy objects… sometimes at the same place. It’s that range of loves and activities that makes it so easy for me to love DC – we’ve got it all.
This is mainly due to the construction industry that uses propane for heat and installation of products. You’d be surprised how often a tank tips over; the nozzle breaks and shoots in the air or burns someone. The permit gives you instructions on how to safely secure bottles. The good thing is the permit is easy to secure, unlike other permits in DC
Hey Geb,
How about you post references in regard to: “You’d be surprised how often a tank tips over; the nozzle breaks and shoots in the air or burns someone.”
I’d CERTAINLY be surprised as I’ve been in the industry for almost 34 years and can’t recall ONE instance in which this has happened.
Sometimes it’s better to be silent and thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.