For a suspected escape, call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999 – they attend, make safe and are free. We carry out the tightness testing, tracing and repair that follows, and the work to prevent a recurrence.
If you smell gas right now
Turn the gas off at the emergency control valve by the meter. Open doors and windows. Do not operate any electrical switch – not a light, not an extractor, not a doorbell. Do not use a naked flame and do not smoke. Do not use a mobile phone inside the property. Get everyone out if the smell is strong. Then call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999 from outside.
They are free, available continuously, and they will attend and make the situation safe. That is their job and they are faster at it than any contractor.
Two further points. If the smell is outdoors or you suspect an escape in the street, the same number covers it. And do not call a plumber or a gas engineer first – the emergency service takes priority, and we deal with the repair afterwards.
What happens after the emergency service attends
They will make the situation safe, which typically means isolating the gas supply or the affected appliance and, where necessary, capping it. What they do not generally do is carry out the repair – that is where we come in.
- Establish what was foundTheir notice or warning label tells us what was identified and what was isolated.
- Tightness test the installationThe objective measurement of whether the installation is holding pressure, and by how much it is not.
- Trace the escapeSection by section, isolating and retesting to narrow it down, with leak detection fluid or an electronic detector at joints.
- Repair or replaceA joint, a section of pipework, a fitting, or an appliance connection – whatever the trace identified.
- Retest and purgeThe installation tested again, purged and brought back into use properly.
- Record itWith the test results, so there is evidence of what was done.
Where escapes actually come from
| Source | Notes |
|---|---|
| Joints and fittings | Compression joints working loose, or jointing compound degrading over decades |
| Corroded steel pipework | Common in older properties, particularly where it passes through or under floors |
| Appliance connections | Cooker bayonet fittings and flexible hoses, which have a finite life |
| Appliance internal faults | Within the appliance itself, which is a repair rather than a pipework matter |
| Meter connections | Generally the supplier’s responsibility up to and including the meter |
| Disused capped runs | Pipework left in place when an appliance was removed, sometimes inadequately capped |
| Damage from other work | A nail through a pipe under a floor, or a run disturbed during building work |
Disused pipework deserves a mention. Where a gas fire or a cooker has been removed over the years and the run left in place, it should be properly capped at the point it branches from the live installation – not simply capped where the appliance was, leaving a length of live pipe serving nothing.
Tightness testing on its own
Worth having done in its own right, not only after a suspected escape:
- When buying a property, particularly an older one with unknown history.
- After building work that may have disturbed pipework.
- Where there is a persistent faint smell that nobody has explained.
- Before letting a property, alongside the landlord gas safety check.
- Where appliances have been removed and you want to know the capped runs are sound.
- On an older installation that has never been tested.
A tightness test is a defined procedure with a pass criterion, and it is part of a gas safety check as a matter of course – see gas safety checks.
Detectors, and what they are worth
Domestic natural gas detectors exist and they are less universally recommended than carbon monoxide alarms, for a straightforward reason: natural gas is deliberately odorised so that people can smell it at concentrations far below anything dangerous. Your nose is the primary detector and it works well.
Where a detector genuinely adds something:
- Where somebody has a reduced sense of smell, which is not uncommon and which removes the primary defence.
- In a cellar or an enclosed space where an accumulation could occur unnoticed.
- With LPG, which behaves differently – it is heavier than air and accumulates at low level, in cellars, ducts and voids, rather than dispersing upwards. A detector sited low is worth having in an LPG property.
- In a property that stands empty for periods.
A detector does not substitute for maintaining the installation, and it does not change what you do if it sounds: isolate, ventilate, get out, call 0800 111 999.
Smell of gas? 0800 111 999 first, always. Call us once it is safe and something needs repairing.
Questions we get asked about this
Who do I call if I smell gas?
The National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999. They are free, always available, and they attend and make it safe. Not a plumber first.
What do I do before they arrive?
Turn off at the meter, open doors and windows, do not touch any electrical switch or use a flame, and get everyone out if the smell is strong. Call from outside.
Will the emergency service repair it?
Generally not. They make it safe, which usually means isolating or capping. The repair is a separate job and that is what we do.
What is a tightness test?
A defined procedure measuring whether the gas installation holds pressure, with a pass criterion. It is part of a gas safety check and it can also be done in its own right.
Should I fit a gas detector?
Natural gas is odorised so that you can smell it well below dangerous concentrations, so your nose is the primary detector. A detector is genuinely worth it where somebody has a reduced sense of smell, in enclosed spaces, and particularly with LPG, which accumulates at low level.
We removed a gas fire years ago. Is the old pipe a risk?
It should have been capped at the point it branches from the live installation. Where it was simply capped at the appliance end, there is a length of live pipe serving nothing, which is worth resolving.
What happens when you call
Call and describe it
You speak to an engineer, not a call centre. Most jobs can be narrowed down on the phone.
We look at it properly
A real diagnosis before a price, and a straight answer if it is not worth doing.
A written quote
Itemised, so you can see what you are paying for.
The job, and the paperwork
Certificates where the work needs them, and what will need attention next.
Where we do this work
Across Norwich and the whole of Norfolk. If you are on the edge of the county, call and ask — we will tell you honestly whether we are the right people.
- Norwich
- Wymondham
- Dereham
- Attleborough
- Aylsham
- North Walsham
- Cromer
- Diss
- Loddon
- Long Stratton
- Watton
- King's Lynn
Need this doing?
Call and describe the problem — you will speak to an engineer, not a call centre. Written quotes, no estimates over the phone.