Smell Gas in Your House? Do These 5 Things First
Leave. That's the first move, before anything else. Tell everyone in the house and get out right away, without stopping to check on anything. Keep walking until you are a safe distance from the house. Then call 911. After that, call PG&E at 1-800-743-5000 to report the leak. Don't go back inside until someone tells you it's safe.
That sequence — out first, then 911, then PG&E — matters more than anything else in this guide. Everything below just fills in the details.
The 5 things to do, in order
- Get out now, and tell everyone nearby to get out too. Don't stop to grab belongings and don't try to find where the smell is coming from.
- Move away from the house, upwind if you can. Keep going until you are a safe distance away from the building.
- Don't use anything that could make a spark until you are a safe distance away. That means no light switches, no cell phone, no flashlight, no matches, and don't start a vehicle.
- From that safe distance, call 911. Then call PG&E at 1-800-743-5000 to report the leak.
- Stay out until you're told it's safe. Don't go back in to check, and don't turn the gas back on yourself, even if the smell seems to have faded.
This order matches PG&E's own gas safety guidance: leave the area immediately to an upwind location, avoid anything that could be a source of ignition until you are a safe distance away, then call 911 and then PG&E at 1-800-743-5000.
Don't wait for a stronger smell
However faint it seems, treat it as real. You don't need to hear a hiss or see anything unusual first. If you smell gas at all, leave and make the calls from a safe distance instead of waiting to see if it gets worse. Don't walk around the house checking appliances or the meter.
Should you shut off the gas yourself?
Don't stay inside to deal with the valve. PG&E's instruction when you smell gas is to leave the area right away and call 911, then PG&E. Getting everyone out is the job. Leave the valve to PG&E and the fire department.
Once gas is shut off at the meter, don't turn it back on yourself. PG&E's guidance is to wait for a PG&E representative or another qualified professional to inspect the system before gas service is restored.
What happens after you call
PG&E dispatches a crew to find the source and shut off the gas if needed. If the leak turns out to be inside the house, at an appliance connection or elsewhere, that repair is a licensed plumber's job, not PG&E's. We confirm what your specific repair needs before we start.
That's usually the point a homeowner calls a plumber instead of waiting around. Once PG&E or the fire department has cleared the property and told you it's safe to be inside, and you still think something is off, don't go hunting for it yourself. It's a job for real gas leak detection and repair, not a guess.
What a real gas leak inspection catches
A licensed plumber running gas leak detection uses tools built for the job, not a nose, to trace exactly where a line is leaking: a loose fitting, a corroded section of pipe, or a bad connection at an appliance. Once the source is found, we handle any permit and inspection the repair calls for, so gas service can be safely restored afterward.
The Otter Squad is licensed (CSLB #1053855, C-36 and C-42) for exactly this kind of work and answers calls 24/7, including the middle of the night a leak decides to show up. If PG&E has already been out and cleared the property, or you just want a second, thorough look after a scare, call (925) 397-2271. Phone and photo guidance is free, and our service call is $95, waived when the repair work is approved and completed.
For a water-side emergency rather than gas, our 24/7 emergency plumber page walks through the same call-first steps for a burst pipe or major leak, and our burst pipe guide covers what to do before the plumber arrives.
If you can still smell gas right now, stop reading, get out, and call 911 first.