What should I do in an emergency gas situation

If your in a situation where you have an emergency gas situation or say a gas leak, it is very important to follow instruction.

Martin Smith who is a fully qualified emergency plumber and a gas engineer explains below on the procedures given to the gas consumer from a competent gas engineer when the gas consumer is not on site.

Advice To Gas Consumer (Responsible Person Present At The Property)

• Do turn off the gas at ECV (Emergency Control Valve).
• Do ventilate property by opening doors & windows.
• Do extinguish sources of ignition.
• Do come away from effected area.
• Do contact the emergency service provider.
• Do ensure access into premises can be gained.
• Do not operate electrical switches (including mobile phones).
• Do not smoke.

Where is the ECV located to turn off the gas supply

If your looking to turn off the gas supply in the event of an emergency gas situation but unsure where to find this, the best place to look is where the gas meter is situated. The gas meter is normally located either outside or under the stairs, however can also be found in other areas of the home. If the gas meter is to be accessed from the outside, you will most like require a triangle key to open, this type of key should be clearly marked and located at a place for any emergency situations which is normally provided to the responsible person of the home. Once you have found the gas meter, you will then find the ECV located within arms length of the meter and most like within 400ml of the meter, however if there is a wall separating the meter to the ECV, then this must be clearly marked near the meter of to it’s location. The location label will be a yellow sticker with the words ‘THE GAS EMERGENCY CONTROL IS LOCATE’ followed by the notes explaining where the ECV is.

At the location of the ECV you will find a on off sign signalling the direction of the ECV being on or signalling being off.

Near the gas meter you should also find a label relating to the emergency gas situation procedures in the event of a gas escape. This sticker will explain the above procedure and also who to contact such as the gas emergency service. To contact the emergency service you will need to call 0800 111 999.

On most cases when calling the emergency service, they will explain what you should and shouldn’t do and get an operative out to you within 1-hour, however there legal responsibility is within 12-hours of the call.

When calling a gas operative out from the gas board due to an emergency, it is advised to let them do there job as within there duties as the operative only has a certain scope as they will most likely not be qualified the work on any appliances outside there duties. If the gas operative finds there is a gas leak or suspects any type of danger, then the gas operatives duty is to cap the gas meter until the responsible person calls out a competent gas engineer to fix any at risk or immediately dangerous situations that occur.

No Handle On ECV

If you come across an ECV with no handle, this is classed as an At Risk situation but should also be dealt with immediately due to the immediate risks that having no handle on the ECV carries. The problem that is face when your unable to turn the gas meter off is that if there is a gas leak, the dangers are so much higher when gas emergency situation.

The advice is when in a situation with a gas leak but unable to turn the gas off, you need to follow the emergency gas situation procedures above, by opening all windows and doors, this will help to dispose of the immediate gas in the air but again, it is also important to call the emergency gas board on 0800 111 999.

What is the mixture of gas to air when in a ignition state?

When in a gas emergency situation and you have a gas leak, to reach the point of an explosion, the gas mixture to air is ignitable between 5 – 15% on natural gas.

What happens once a gas operative from the gas board has been to stop the gas leak?

Once a gas operative from the gas board has been out to stop the gas leak when in a gas emergency situation and the gas leak is found after the meter (downstream from gas meter). You will need you call an emergency gas safe engineer to visit the home to fixed what ever problem exist. Once everything is found save, the gas engineer can then leave the occupant to use all gas appliances in use.

Who do I call when searching for a gas engineer?

If you would like any further assistance, information or advice, you can call Martin Smith on 07720247247 who can either just advice over the phone or get an emergency gas engineer out to you within 30 to 90-minutes within reason.

If your a gas engineer and would like to register your details on our database and are a fully competent gas engineer working on emergency gas situations, then please follow the link plumbing register.