You Can Smell Gas: What to Do Right Now
This page exists to give you the right action in the right order, not to sell you anything.
This page exists to give you the right action in the right order, not to sell you anything. If you can smell gas in or around your property, the National Gas Emergency Service is the first call — free, 24 hours a day, on 0800 111 999. Everything else, including us, comes afterwards.
Do this immediately
Turn the gas off at the meter's emergency control valve if you can reach it safely. Open doors and windows. Do not use light switches, doorbells, plugs or mobile phones inside the property, and do not smoke or use naked flames. Leave the building and call 0800 111 999 from outside.
What the emergency service does
The gas emergency engineer's role is to make the situation safe. They will trace and isolate the escape, and may cap an appliance or the supply and leave a warning notice. They do not carry out repairs to your appliances or pipework — that is where a Gas Safe registered engineer takes over.
Carbon monoxide is a different warning
Carbon monoxide has no smell. The signs are headaches, drowsiness or nausea that improve when you leave the house, sooty staining around an appliance, and yellow rather than blue flames. Every property with a gas appliance should have an audible CO alarm sited according to the manufacturer's instructions.
Getting back to normal safely
Once the escape is isolated, a Gas Safe registered engineer can test the installation, repair or replace what failed, and recommission the appliances. We're registered under 197524 and can carry out tightness testing, pipework repair, appliance repair or replacement, and issue the appropriate documentation.
Common questions
Who do I call first if I smell gas?
The National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999. It is free and staffed 24 hours a day. Call from outside the property, not from inside.
Will the emergency engineer fix my boiler?
No. They make the situation safe and isolate the source. Repair or replacement of appliances and pipework is then carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer.
How do I check an engineer is Gas Safe registered?
Ask for the registration number and check it on the Gas Safe Register. Ours is 197524, and every engineer carries an ID card showing which appliance types they are qualified to work on.
Does a carbon monoxide alarm detect gas leaks?
No. A CO alarm detects the products of incomplete combustion, not unburnt natural gas. They serve different purposes and both are worth having.