Protect people, avoid ignition and report from safety without waiting to locate the leak.
A smell of gas needs a prompt response. Do not delay the emergency report while collecting a meter serial number or searching for a leaking joint.
- Protect people. Warn others and get clear. Avoid flames and electrical switches: operating a switch off can spark as well as operating it on. Use a phone from a safe location.
- Only isolate or ventilate when safe. Do not enter an affected cellar to reach its valve or window. If the control cannot be reached or closed, withdraw and tell the emergency service; do not force or dismantle it.
- Report and follow the emergency advice. In Great Britain, call 0800 111 999 for a natural-gas escape. Use the LPG supplier's emergency arrangements for LPG. Call 999 for fire or immediate danger requiring the emergency services. Wait for the all-clear before going back in.
What a quieter situation does not prove
An open window, fading smell or silent CO-only alarm does not establish that an escape has stopped. A CO-only alarm does not detect unburnt fuel gas. Emergency attendance may make the situation safe while leaving a repair for a competent engineer; do not reopen the affected supply for normal use before safety has been established.
Read Gas escapes: first actions and safe return for the distinction between making safe, investigation and return to use.
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