Gas leak at home: what to do in the first 60 seconds

If you smell gas in your home right now, stop reading this for sixty seconds and do this first. Open every window and door. Do not flick any electrical switches on or off. Do not strike a match or light a lighter. Do not use the phone inside the house. Get everyone outside. Then call 131 909, the 24-hour Jemena gas emergency line for Sydney, from outside the building. Come back to this when it's safe.

The next sixty seconds are the part that matters. Most household gas incidents do not end in disaster, because most people get the basics right by instinct. But the basics need to be done in the right order. Here is the order, and what should happen after the emergency call.

If you smell gas right now, here's the order

• Get everyone, including pets, outside the house. This is the only thing that has to happen first.
• Once outside, do not go back in for anything that doesn't fit in your pocket.
• Do not turn any electrical switches on or off, do not use the phone inside, do not start a car parked in the garage, and do not light anything. A single spark in a gas-saturated space is enough.
• From outside the house, call 131 909. That is the Jemena 24-hour gas leak hotline for Sydney and most of NSW. It's free and operates around the clock.
• If the smell is strong, also call 000 from outside the house. The fire brigade has trained gas-leak responders and will isolate the area.
• If you can safely reach the gas meter from outside, turn the meter shutoff valve to the closed position. The valve is usually on the side of the meter and turns a quarter-turn.

How to tell whether it's a real leak

Natural gas itself has no smell. The rotten-egg smell that signals gas is mercaptan, an additive Jemena and other Australian gas distributors put into the supply specifically so leaks are detectable by nose. If you smell that, treat it as real until proven otherwise.

Common confounders that smell similar but aren't gas:

• A blocked sewer vent or recent drain backup. Sewer gas (hydrogen sulfide) smells distinctly like rotten eggs and can drift indoors if a trap has dried out or a vent is blocked.
• A failing electrical component. Burning insulation, an overheated motor, or a melting outlet can produce a sulfur-like smell that, in a kitchen near a gas hob, gets mistaken for gas.
• A pilot light that's recently extinguished. A pilot that's just blown out releases a small amount of gas before automatic shutoff kicks in. The smell is real but transient.

When in doubt, treat it as a real leak. The cost of a callout to a non-leak is small. The cost of staying inside during a real leak is not.

After it's safe, what should happen next

Once Jemena's responders have isolated the supply and confirmed the house is safe to re-enter, the next step is identifying the source. Jemena will turn the gas back on only after a licensed gas fitter has inspected and certified the system. That work is a plumber's job, not the distributor's. Norton Plumbing handles gas leak inspections across the Eastern Suburbs and works directly with Jemena to get supply restored once the system is signed off.

A gas leak inspection at the property covers:

• A manometer pressure-decay test on the line, which detects leaks down to volumes too small for a smell to be obvious.
• Visual inspection of every accessible joint, fitting, and appliance connection, including hob, oven, hot water unit, and heater connections.
• Replacement of any failed fittings or sections of line, followed by a re-test before the certificate is issued.
• A compliance certificate (Certificate of Compliance) lodged with the relevant authority, which Jemena requires before restoring supply.

How to reach Norton Plumbing

Norton Plumbing handles gas leak inspections and repairs across Sydney's Eastern Suburbs. We operate from 10/11a-15 Berwick Street, Coogee NSW 2034. Phone: 0477 858 951. Adam Norton holds NSW plumbing licence 397768C and a gas fitter's licence. We attend most jobs personally. We work across Eastern Suburbs including Bondi, Coogee, Randwick, Maroubra, and Kingsford. We are available 24/7 for emergencies, and during business hours there is no callout fee. For more detail on certification and testing, our gas fitting service page covers what an inspection and certificate involves.