Home safety Gas safety
What to do if you smell gas and how to protect your home from carbon monoxide.
We'll service your gas appliances and boiler every year to check it's safe. But if you ever smell gas in your home, you should call the National Gas Emergency Service immediately on 0800 111 999.
We’ll arrange for a Gas Safe registered engineer to check your gas boiler and appliances each year. This annual gas safety check will make sure your gas supply and appliances are safe for you to use.
If you have any concerns about your gas appliances before or after your annual gas safety check, please contact us.
Whenever we fit your gas appliances, we’ll always use a Gas Safe registered engineer. You should also make sure to use a Gas Safe registered engineer for any work on your gas appliances.
Check your user manual before making any changes to your boiler. For example, changing the temperature settings. You can contact us for a user manual or you can download the manual directly from the manufacturer if your boiler is one of the following brands:
If you have gas appliances in your home, you need a carbon monoxide alarm and you test it regularly. Your smoke alarm can’t detect carbon monoxide, so you need a separate CO alarm. We also provide CO alarms in our homes, but you can also buy audible CO alarms in supermarkets, DIY stores and online for around £20.
If you smell gas in your home or garden, call the National Gas Emergency Service immediately on 0800 111 999 or via textphone on 18001 followed by 0800 111 999.
If you’re a British Sign Language (BSL) user and have the SignLive app, you can also use the app to contact the National Gas Emergency Service.
An emergency gas engineer will visit your home, for free, within two hours to make the situation safe. In the meantime:
- open all doors and windows
- turn off your gas appliances and supply at the meter
- don’t smoke or use naked flames
- don’t touch any electrical switches
- don’t go into a cellar, even if your gas meter is there
Carbon monoxide, or CO, is a highly poisonous gas. It’s produced when fossil fuels, such as gas, oil and wood, don’t burn properly.
It’s known as the silent killer as it kills quickly and without warning. You can’t see it, smell it, hear it or taste it.
Warning signs of carbon monoxide to look out for include:
- a floppy yellow or orange flame on your gas hob or oven, instead of a crisp blue flame
- black sooty marks on or around your gas appliances
- your boiler pilot light often blows out
- more condensation inside your windows than normal
A CO alarm will alert you if there’s carbon monoxide in your home, but it’s important to know the symptoms of CO poisoning too as they’re similar to flu. The six symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are:
- breathlessness
- collapsing
- dizziness
- headaches
- loss of consciousness
- sickness
If you think there could be carbon monoxide in your home or your CO alarm sounds, call the National Gas Emergency Service immediately on 0800 111 999.
You should also open all doors and windows, and move everyone outside into the fresh air.
