📞 WHO DO I CALL FOR?

I Smell Gas in the House — Who Do I Call?

Updated 2026-08-10

Short answer

Leave the house now, taking everyone with you. Do not flip any switch, unplug anything, use a phone indoors, or start a car in an attached garage — any spark can ignite gas. From outside and well away, call 911 or your gas utility's emergency number. Both respond free and around the clock. Don't go back in until they clear it.

Who to call — and when

Call this When Not for
911 Strong smell, hissing sound, or anyone feels dizzy or unwell — fastest response You've already evacuated and the utility is en route with a short ETA
Your gas utility's emergency line Any suspected leak — they respond free, 24/7, and it's their equipment up to the meter There's an active fire — that's 911 only
Licensed plumber or gas fitter After the utility clears it — leaks on your side of the meter (house piping, appliance connections) are your repair Before the utility has confirmed the situation is safe
HVAC technician The leak traces to a furnace, water heater, or other gas appliance —
Your propane supplier's emergency line You're on propane, not natural gas — there is no utility to call, and if the tank is leased the tank, regulator, and often the buried line are theirs You smell gas from a piped natural gas supply — that's the utility
Your landlord (in writing, after the utility) You rent — gas piping and appliance safety are the landlord's cost, but call the utility first regardless —

The rule is simple: leave, then call

Natural gas is odorless. Utilities add mercaptan — the rotten-egg or sulphur smell — specifically so you’ll notice a leak. If you smell it indoors, the assumption is a leak until a professional says otherwise.

On your way out, touch nothing electrical. Not the light switch, not the thermostat, not the garage door button, not your phone. The mental model that helps: you are standing in something that wants a spark.

Once outside and a good distance from the building, call. Both 911 and your gas utility’s emergency line respond free and 24/7. If anyone is dizzy or nauseated, or if you hear hissing, call 911 — they’re faster and they can treat people.

Once you’re outside: where the smell is decides who you call

The emergency call is the same in every case. Who owns the problem afterwards is decided by geography, and it is worth knowing before anyone quotes you.

Anywhere inside the house, source unknown → gas utility emergency line. Free, 24/7, and they will locate it and tell you which side of the meter it is on.

Outdoors near the street, the meter, or a riser — or blowing dirt, bubbling in puddles, dead grass in a line → still the utility, and move away from the area. Underground leaks migrate into buildings, so this is not a “call in the morning” situation.

Localised at one appliance — the range, the dryer, the water heater, the fireplace → utility first anyway, because they can make it safe for free. The repair afterwards splits: piping and flexible connectors are a gas fitter or plumber; a failed valve inside the appliance is appliance repair or, for a furnace, HVAC.

You’re on propane rather than piped natural gas → there is no utility. Call your propane supplier’s emergency line, and 911 if nobody picks up or the smell is strong. If the tank is leased, the tank, regulator, and usually the buried line to the house are the supplier’s responsibility.

Faint whiff when a burner first lights, gone in seconds → normal. A smell that persists, or that you notice with everything off, is not.

You rent → utility first, landlord second, and put the landlord notice in writing with the time. Do not schedule your own contractor before the landlord has had the chance to; you may not get reimbursed.

One thing not on this list: going back inside to shut the gas off at the meter. Utilities do not want you to. Stay out and let them do it.

Other signs beyond the smell

Note that a gas leak and carbon monoxide are different problems: gas leaks smell and explode, CO is odorless and poisons. A CO alarm does not detect a natural gas leak, and a gas detector doesn’t detect CO. Homes with gas appliances want both.

Whose repair is it?

The dividing line is the meter. Everything up to and including it belongs to the utility and costs you nothing. Beyond it — the piping through your house, the flexible connectors behind appliances, the appliances themselves — is yours, and you’ll want a licensed plumber or gas fitter. The utility will typically shut off service and tag the problem, but they won’t repair your side.

Which is why the order matters. Utility first, contractor second, every time. A plumber cannot shut off your service at the meter, does not carry the utility’s leak-survey gear, and many will decline to enter a building with a suspected live leak until the utility has cleared it. Call one first and the likely outcome is a call-out fee and instructions to phone the free service you skipped. Call the utility first and you get the leak located, the house made safe, and a tag describing exactly what needs fixing — which is the cheapest possible brief to hand a contractor.

Keep the utility’s tag and paperwork, and photograph it. It names the fault, which stops the next quote from expanding to cover things nobody found.

Sanity-checking the repair quote

The utility has already done the expensive part — locating the leak — and done it for nothing. So a quote that leads with a large “leak detection” or “pressure test” line item, after the utility has handed you a tag naming the fault, deserves a question.

Fixr’s numbers for context: gas line repair runs $150 to $700 with a national average of $400, and repairing a rotten-egg-smell leak specifically is priced at $150 to $800. The genuine low end is about $100 for rust on an accessible pipe. The genuine high end is around $2,300, and that is a buried line requiring excavation — not a connector behind a stove.

So: a four-figure quote for a single accessible connector or a short interior run is out of band. Ask which fitting or section is being replaced, ask whether the price includes the pressure test and the re-light of every appliance, and if a full repipe is proposed, ask what evidence supports replacing pipe that the utility did not tag. Whole-house repipes are sometimes correct on old black iron, but that is a decision to make with two quotes in daylight, not on the night of the leak.

What it typically costs

Service Typical range Source
Gas line repair (your side of the meter) $150–$700, national average $400 Fixr
Repairing an actual leak / rotten-egg smell $150–$800 Fixr
Low end: rust on an accessible pipe section $100 Fixr
High end: buried line leak needing excavation $2,300 Fixr

Common questions

Why can't I use my phone inside?
Any electrical device can produce a small spark — phones, light switches, garage door openers, thermostats, doorbells. In an atmosphere with enough gas, that's an ignition source. Get outside and well clear, then call.
Should I open windows on the way out?
If a window is right there and opening it costs no time, fine. Do not go around the house opening things. Leaving quickly is the priority, and utilities would rather ventilate the building themselves.
It's a faint smell near the stove — still an emergency?
A brief whiff when a burner is first lit can be normal. A persistent smell is not. Utilities explicitly prefer false alarms to hesitation, and there is no charge for the visit. Call.
Who pays for the repair?
Everything up to and including the meter is the utility's, at their cost. Piping and appliances inside your home are yours — a licensed plumber or gas fitter handles those. Fixr puts gas line repair at $150 to $700 with a national average of $400, and specifically prices repairing a rotten-egg-smell leak at $150 to $800. The low end is around $100 for rust on an accessible pipe; the high end is about $2,300 for a buried line that needs excavation.
Should I just call a plumber instead of the utility?
No, and most plumbers will tell you the same thing. They cannot shut off your service at the meter, they do not carry the utility's leak-survey equipment, and many will not enter a building with a suspected active leak until the utility has made it safe. You would pay a call-out fee to be told to phone the free service you skipped. Utility first, always; the plumber quotes off what the utility found.
I'm on propane, not natural gas. Who do I call?
Your propane supplier's emergency line, not a gas utility — there isn't one. Leave first and call from outside, same as with natural gas. If your tank is leased, the tank, the regulator, and frequently the buried line to the house belong to the supplier and are their repair. Anything past that is yours. If nobody answers or the smell is strong, call 911.
What if I smell gas outside near the street?
Still call the utility, and move away from the area. Outdoor leaks can migrate underground into buildings. If you see blowing dirt, bubbling water, or hear hissing near a gas line, treat it as serious and call 911.

Sources

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