What to do in a gas emergency

If you have a gas emergency, it’s easy to feel panicked. With these steps you should know what to do and how to keep your home and family safe.

Gas emergency: CO2 poisoning

Carbon monoxide is a colourless, odourlesssubstance which is almost impossible to detect. If you or a member of your family has any of the following symptoms, you may have a case of carbon monoxide poisoning, meaning that carbon monoxide is leaking into your home:

Shortness of breath

Nausea

Dizziness

Headaches

Feeling light-headed

This could indicate a serious gas emergency, so if you think there is a case of gas poisoning, it’s important to act fast. Get everyone into fresh air immediately and seek medical attention for those affected. Open all doors and windows to let air circulate, switch off all gas appliances in the house and call the National Gas Emergency service number: 0800 111 999. Get in touch with a registered Gas Safe engineer like the ones at AT Plumbing and Heating to fix the leak as quickly as possible.

Gas emergency: Gas leak

Fires, explosions and illnesses can all be the result of a gas leak inside or outside your property. Badly installed gas appliances such as gas boilers, cookers and fires can cause these leaks. If you can smell gas and you think you have a gas emergency, it’s important to raise the alarm.

. As before, switch your gas supply at the mains

. If the leak is indoors, open all windows and doors

. Avoid doing anything which would spark a flame, such as lighting a match or using a lighter and make sure that no one rings the door bell

. The National Grid advises calling their gas emergency helpline on 0800 111 999, which is open 24/7

On calling the gas emergency helpline, you should have someone attend to your gas leak in one hour if it’s uncontrolled (if the source of the leak hasn’t been shut off) and two hours if it is controlled (if the gas control valve has been switched off and there is no longer a smell of gas).

After your gas emergency has been averted

Once you’ve had a visit from the gas emergency engineer, you’ll need to book a Gas Safe registered technician to carry out any repairs needed. This might be on pipes or gas appliances such as boilers. At AT Plumbing and Heating, we have a team of gas engineers who are fully certified and can carry out all kinds of repairs in the event of a gas emergency. Call us for a quote today on 08006 121 129.