What to do if you smell gas!

(Information provided by National Grid - www.nationalgrid.com)

If you smell gas or are worried about gas safety, you can call 0800 111 999* at any time, day or night every day of the year. Your call will not cost you anything. Just pick up the phone, dial the number and you will be put through to a trained operator who will take all the details.

If you smell gas, call free on 0800 111 999*.

• DON'T smoke or strike matches
• DON'T turn electrical switches on or off
• DO put out naked flames
• DO open doors and windows to ventilate the property
• DO turn off the gas supply at the meter (unless the smell of gas and the meter are in a cellar). Make sure any gas appliances are turned off
• DO call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999*

What happens when someone dials the National Gas Emergency Service?

When you dial 0800 111 999*, your call will be routed to the call centre.

This is a 24 hours, 52 weeks a year service – there are trained operators working round-the-clock waiting to take your call.

A call handling agent will log all the appropriate details onto a computer. The kind of information you’ll be asked for includes:

• The address / location of the suspected gas escape or gas emergency : Postcode details please
• How many people are at the property
• Where the smell is most noticeable
• How long the smell has been noticeable
• Are any neighbours affected
• Your name and phone number.
• Any special circumstances or access information
  

You’ll be asked a series of questions designed to help us build a picture of the reported gas escape or gas emergency. From these details, we can identify the right gas safety advice for you, such as:

• Opening doors and windows
• Turning the gas off at the meter
• Avoiding the use of any naked flames or electrical switches
  

Send for an engineer

Once all the information has been gathered, it will be sent electronically to an engineer for action. How long will you have to wait for an engineer to arrive ? National Grid Networks through its Operator, United Utilities, aims to attend all uncontrolled escapes within one hour, and all controlled escapes within two hours. A controlled gas escape is one where the person reporting it has confirmed that the gas emergency control valve serving the premises has been turned off and the smell of gas has gone. An uncontrolled gas escape covers all others. Sometimes, our engineers will be sent to a leak that has been reported outdoors. Around a quarter of these turn out not be gas leaks at all. Around 80% of the gas escapes we attend are inside buildings. That means the escape is related to internal pipework, a boiler, gas fire or other gas appliance.

What if the gas leak is indoors?

Our engineers will always ’make safe’ when called to a suspected gas escape. However, the emergency service provided by Northern Gas Networks under the terms of its License doesn’t cover repairs to appliances or installation pipework which can’t be completed within 30 minutes.

So what do I do next ?

Once we have made the property safe, our engineer will explain that any work on appliances (e.g. cookers, boilers or fires.) has to be carried out by a CORGI-registered engineer. At this point you may contact us 01792 22 43 21and we will be happy to attend and repair your appliance.

*All calls to the National Gas Emergency Service are recorded, and may be monitored.

The information is provided by National Grid.