With the release of the King County fire investigators’ report regarding the Vashon Energy fire, we have a bit more insight into the cause of the incident. And we may have additional insight when the Washington State Department of Labor &Industries concludes its investigation, projected to be finalized next month.

Regardless of what either investigation shows, however, it is clear that AmeriGas Propane, which owns Vashon Energy, has fallen short in serving many of its island customers in the two months since the fire.

The first business day after the explosion, the spokeswoman for the company, which is based in Pennsylvania, promised there would be no interruption of service. The reality was far different. In late December, reports began to come in of people who had run out of propane and were met with few answers and delayed deliveries. While those reports have slowed, they have not stopped altogether. We have continued to hear from people who — despite having called the company repeatedly — have run out of propane or were coming very close to empty. Just last week, one islander took to Facebook, saying it was the third time her family had run out since the fire, despite repeated calls. Recently, another customer who had run out of propane played a voice mail for us from an AmeriGas representative, saying the business itself had run out of propane, and it would be two more days before a delivery could be scheduled.

In expecting more from AmeriGas, we are not criticizing Vashon Energy or the drivers who have served the island in recent months. We believe recovering from the incident — in all aspects — has been difficult, and we are grateful it was not worse. But we do believe that AmeriGas, with 2 million customers in 50 states and acutely aware of the potential hazards propane poses, should have been prepared for such an event with emergency action and communications plans ready — and then followed them.

According to the company’s annual report, its net profit last year was $207 million. To us, that sounds like enough money to have ensured better service to the island after the fire, especially when some of the weeks were quite cold and customers were struggling.

Last week, we reached out to Kate Stickel, the company spokeswoman, as well as the area director and district manager, sharing some of the latest stories we had been told and asking when the customer service problems might be solved. None of the three responded.

On its website, AmeriGas promises excellent customer service: “Because we are committed to our customers and the communities we serve, you can be sure that AmeriGas will be there for you every day.”

We look forward to seeing that message carried out on Vashon in the weeks and months ahead.