What to do if…you have a gas leak

Photo: Getty Images

The common kind of gas leak inspires fits of suppressed laughter and/or waves of embarrassment. The other kind—released from hot-air furnaces, space heaters and natural-gas ranges—has the power to blow you and your home to kingdom come. Since pure natural gas (methane) has no scent, the folks that supply it to your place have added a foul-smelling odorant called mercaptan to make leaks detectable. This sulfur-based chemical stinks of rotten eggs. So what do you do if you smell a strong odor? Advice from the experts is very straightforward: Get the hell out!

“Do not light a match, smoke or turn on any appliance or lights or even use your telephone,” says Joe Petta, a spokesperson for Con Edison. “Under the right circumstances, any of those could generate a spark and trigger an explosion if there is a leak of natural gas.”

Call your gas company from outside (per Con Ed, no need for 911—they’ll just call the utility). Con Edison (800-75-CONED) supplies natural gas to Manhattan, the Bronx and parts of Queens. National Grid (718-643-4050) takes care of Brooklyn, Staten Island and other parts of Queens. You can call anytime, 24/7, for assistance.

If the odor is faint, Petta advises you to open your windows to ventilate your home, then evacuate and call the utility company.

For more safety tips, check out coned.com/customercentral/gassafety.asp.

NEXT: What to do if...someone's stealing your Wi-Fi»

What to do if...