What should I do if I smell gas near my fireplace?
Black Mountain sits on the natural-gas main, so a lingering rotten-egg smell means everyone leaves now — no light switch, no garage opener, no phone until you're outdoors — then call your gas utility's emergency line or 911 from the driveway. Natural gas rises, so trust a smell at head height. Once it's cleared, call us at (828) 545-0525.
Cold valley air, tight houses, sharper noses
The Swannanoa Valley runs a temperature inversion most clear winter mornings, dropping Black Mountain and Montreat ten to fifteen degrees below Asheville and keeping houses shut up tight against the cold. A closed-up home concentrates a small leak fast instead of letting it drift off, so a rotten-egg smell you'd shrug at in July is one you act on in January. Black Mountain is on the natural-gas main, so a real leak rises — you'll usually catch it at head height, not down low.
Wooded, shaded, and damp
Montreat's heavily wooded lots keep houses cool, shaded, and moisture-prone, and that damp is quietly hard on older chimneys and on the metal fittings inside an aging gas appliance. Where a vented gas log set sits in an older firebox, the valve, connector, and pilot assembly are the usual sources of a slow seep. A faint whiff the first evening you light up in the fall is normally dust; a smell that keeps returning is your cue to get everyone out — no light switch, no garage opener, no phone until you're standing outside.
Fifteen minutes east, licensed the whole way
Once your utility has shut the gas off at the meter and confirmed the air is clear, the repair is licensed gas-contractor work — finding the leak, fixing it, and pressure-testing the line so it holds. A furniture showroom or a mason can sell a firebox, but in North Carolina they legally can't connect or repair the fuel; we can, and we permit with Buncombe County when the job requires it. Black Mountain is only about fifteen minutes east of our Emma Road showroom, so a truck with the common parts is rarely far. Call (828) 545-0525.
Fireplace help in Black Mountain
We install and service fireplaces throughout Black Mountain and the rest of Buncombe County — just 15 minutes east from our Asheville-area showroom.
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?