Gas Emergencies

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. The call is free. Just pick up the phone, dial the number and you will be put through to a trained operator who will take all the details. All calls to the National Gas Emergency Service are recorded, and may be monitored.

Turn off the gas at the meter, unless the meter is located in a cellar of basement - in which case, do not enter.

  • If there is a smell of gas in the cellar of basement, you should evacuate the building.
  • Extinguish all naked flames - do not smoke or strike matches
  • Turm off all gas appliances and do not use until they are checked by the engineer
  • Do not operate any electrical appliances or turn any switches on or off
  • Open doors and windows to ventilate the property
  • Keep peaple away from the area
  • Immediate access will be required

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, 365 dats a year service and trained operators work around-the-clock waiting to take your call. The kind of information you will be asked for includes;

  • The address of location of the suspected gas escape or gas emergency. The Postcode would be helpful
  • Where the smell is most noticeable
  • When was the smell first noticed
  • Is there a smell of gas outside
  • Are any neighbours' affected
  • Is the gas turned off at the meter
  • Your name and phone number
  • Any special circumstances of access information

What happens next?

Once all the information has been gathered, it will be sent to a local engineer for action. They are targeted to attend all uncontrolled escapes within oner hour, and all controlled escapes within two hours.

What if the gas leak is indoors?

The engineer will always 'make safe' when called to a suspected gas escape. However, the emergency service provided does not cover repairs to appliances of installation pipe work which cannot be completed within 30 minutes.

So what do I do next?

Once the property is safe, the engineer will explain that any work on appliances has to be carried out by a CORGI-registered engineer, CORGI stands for Council for Registered Gas Installers. You can find details of engineers who are CORGI registered on CORGI website.

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