COLLINSVILLE, Okla. — Jackie and Jerry Baughman both became Ferrellgas customers when they moved into their Collinsville home in Sept. 2021. The couple is currently renting a tank from the company.

Anya Tucker, correspondent with Fox23 in Albany, New York has been covering Ferrellgas since 2018. According to Tucker, other propane gas companies generally won’t refill a tank that is being leased by Ferrellgas.

In Jan. 2022, the Baughmans both caught COVID. By the end of the month, when they were finally recovering they both realized they were running low on propane to heat their home. They called Ferrellgas on Jan. 28. to schedule an order ahead of the winter storm. They paid for the propane gas in advance. And then they waited.

The couple said they have been living an absolute nightmare for the past several days.

“It’s been 10 days since we’ve been able to heat our house,” said Jackie.

Jerry stated that the temperatures in the home have dropped to 41 degrees.

Jackie has had to send her kids to Broken Arrow, to go stay with their dad.

“I wasn’t able to see them for a week,” said Jackie.

Two space heaters have helped the couple stay warm in their bedroom at night, but the Baughmans say that it doesn’t heat up the entire house. They would have got a generator to handle multiple space heaters, but they didn’t think it would take over ten days for propane gas.

Jerry is a veteran and left the Air Force five years ago. He now owns a saltwater tank that is his pride and joy and it has been incredibly therapeutic for him.

“It has really helped him with his PTSD,” said Jackie.

Ideally, saltwater tanks need to be kept at 75-80 degrees.

The house got so cold on Saturday night, five of their tropical fish died including other live organisms in the tank. Even Jackie lost her own fish she had named after her brother who passed away. And their home is beginning to smell like dead fish.

“I’ve lost about $1,000 that I’ve invested in that aquarium,” said Jerry. “And what if the pipes burst. Not to mention the other damage we may not know about yet.”

FOX23 reached out to Ferrellgas and they responded with a statement.

“Ensuring that our customers have the propane they need is our top priority. We have a sufficient supply of propane and Ferrellgas’ dedicated employees are working hard to meet the needs of our customers in the area. We continue to ask our Will Call customers to contact us when their tank percentage reaches 30% or seven business days prior to their desired delivery. More time is recommended during extreme weather conditions. This important information is explained in the Ferrellgas Customer Agreement given to new customers and shared most recently in the attached press release, which was distributed nationwide in December of last year.”

-Scott Brockelmeyer, Ferrellgas Director, Corporate Communications

Since running the story, several Ferrellgas customers have reached out with their own issues with the company, locally and nationally.

Michigan, Florida and New York states have had settlements with the propane gas company.

As of Sunday night, Feb. 6, the Baughmans still have not been able to even get scheduled on the Ferrellgas website for their propane tank to be filled up.

The last few days have taken a toll on Jerry and Jackie. The day after the story aired, Jackie pulled into her driveway to see a Ferrellgas company filling up their tank.

They are relieved to finally have heat for now. Should the Baughman’s ever move, they say they will be seriously taking into consideration what kind of gas will be heating their home.

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