Gas escapes: first actions and safe return

A suspected gas escape calls for prompt protection and reporting. You do not need to identify a leaking joint, obtain a meter serial number or prove a failed tightness test before reporting a gas smell.

Protect people and call from safety

Avoid flames and electrical operation where gas may be present. Switching equipment off can create a spark just as switching it on can. Warn people, get clear and make the call from a safe place; do not stay inside using a phone while tracing the smell.

For a natural-gas emergency in Great Britain, call 0800 111 999. For an LPG escape, use the LPG supplier's emergency arrangements. Call 999 for a fire or immediate danger requiring the emergency services. Follow the responding service's instructions and wait for the all-clear before going back in.

Safe access controls isolation and ventilation

Close the emergency control valve and open doors or windows only where safe. These actions must not require entering or remaining in danger. In particular, do not enter a cellar or basement where an escape is suspected to reach its valve or window.

If the control cannot be reached or will not close, withdraw and tell the emergency service that isolation has not been achieved. Do not force the handle, dismantle the valve or open a gas connection. A smell fading after ventilation does not prove that the escape has stopped.

Decision check: the caller is already outside, but the meter is in the affected cellar. Keep the caller out and report the inaccessible control. Sending them downstairs would reverse the protective action already taken.

Investigate only after the immediate danger is controlled

Leak investigation belongs to a competent person using the applicable procedure. Density gives a tendency, not a safe floor or room: airflow and building routes affect where escaped gas spreads. Do not use occupants to search for the strongest smell.

Where valid sectional tests are appropriate, a pass in one section and failure in another narrows the search. It does not identify the first joint after a valve, prove every joint in the failed section leaks, or establish the safety of the whole installation.

Repair and check before normal use

Making the emergency safe does not necessarily include repairing the customer's installation. Arrange the required competent repair and complete the applicable tightness, purging and recommissioning checks before returning affected equipment to normal use. Keep it safely isolated if that cannot be achieved.

Controlled gas admission for a prescribed test is different from permission to use a known leaking installation. A cooker lighting successfully does not prove gas-tightness, and a pipework tightness result does not establish every appliance's combustion or flue safety.