What should I do if I smell gas near my fireplace?
Stop what you're doing, don't flip any switches or light anything, get everyone outside, and call your gas utility's emergency line or 911 from the driveway — not from inside the house. A faint whiff at ignition can be normal; a persistent rotten-egg smell is not. Once the utility has made things safe, call us at (828) 545-0525 to find and repair the source.
The order of operations — memorize it before you need it
Leave first, investigate never. On your way out: no light switches, no lamps, no garage-door opener, no phone calls until you're outside — any of them can make a spark, and a spark is the one ingredient a gas leak is waiting for. Don't stop to open windows, don't try to relight the pilot to "burn it off," and don't go hunting for the source. From outside, call your gas utility's emergency line or 911 for natural gas, or your propane supplier for LP. They respond around the clock, check with instruments, and shut off the supply at no charge. That smell, by the way, is deliberate — both fuels are odorized with that rotten-egg compound precisely so your nose works as a detector.
One WNC wrinkle: propane sinks
Natural gas is lighter than air and drifts up and out. Propane is heavier — it slides downhill and pools in basements, crawlspaces, and floor registers. If you're on natural gas along the Asheville or Hendersonville mains, you'll usually smell a leak at nose height. But out in propane country — Fairview, Candler, Brevard, and the cabins up our mountain roads — a faint smell down low, near the floor or a crawlspace hatch, deserves the exact same full response. Pooled propane lingers instead of dispersing, which is why LP homes should take even a weak whiff seriously.
After the emergency: who actually fixes it
The utility or propane supplier makes the scene safe — they don't repair your house piping or your fireplace. Finding the leak, fixing it, and pressure-testing the system is licensed gas-contractor work in North Carolina, and that's our lane. We locate the leak with proper instruments, repair it, retest the line, and pull the permit when the work requires one, so your insurance and your peace of mind are both covered. Keep (828) 545-0525 as the second call.
How we can help
Related questions
- How do I check my gas fireplace for a gas leak?
- Who should I call about a suspected gas leak — the gas company or a fireplace technician?
- Where is the gas shutoff valve for my fireplace, and how do I turn it off in an emergency?
- Can a gas fireplace explode?
- Why does my gas fireplace smell like gas while it's running?
- Can a gas fireplace cause carbon monoxide poisoning?
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