A smell of natural gas in your home?
If the smell is very weak and coming from an appliance:
- Call the Gazifère emergency number at once: 819-771-8321, press 1.
- Open the doors and windows to ventilate the house.
If the smell is strong and you hear a hissing sound:
- Stay calm. Do not use the telephone, do not touch a switch, do not turn any appliance on or off, do not smoke and do not light a flame of any kind.
- Immediately evacuate all occupants and pets.
- If possible, leave the door open to ventilate the house.
- Call our emergency number from a neighbour’s telephone.
- If the leaking natural gas is burning, do not try to put the fire out. Dial 9-1-1.
There is no charge for a safety inspection following the reporting of a suspected natural gas odour.
If you smell natural gas in your yard or in the street
- Immediately call the Gazifère emergency number: 819-771-8321, press 1, or 9-1-1. Be ready to give the address, or the names of the streets at the nearest intersection.
- Keep clear of the area.
- Do not use a cellphone, start any motors or motor vehicles, use lighters or matches or smoke near a natural gas leak.
- If the leaking natural gas is burning, do not attempt to put out the fire yourself. Immediately call 9-1-1.
Carbon monoxide
Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning
Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning may cause symptoms similar to those of a cold: headaches, nausea, fatigue, dizziness, drowsiness, burning eyes, confusion, disorientation or unconsciousness. Be on your guard: in very severe cases, carbon monoxide poisoning can be fatal! If you and the other occupants of the home experience the symptoms, but feel better outdoors, CO or other pollutants present in your home may be the cause.
What to do if you experience these symptoms
Evacuate the house and dial 9-1-1 at once. Seek immediate medical help. Before returning to your house, have it inspected by a firefighter or a natural gas-certified professional.
Where does CO come from?
Carbon monoxide is odourless, colourless, tasteless and highly toxic. It is a by-product of incomplete combustion of fuels like wood, propane, heating oil, kerosene, gasoline, diesel, natural gas, coal or charcoal. An appliance that is not regularly cleaned and inspected may emit carbon monoxide into your home.
How to protect your family
- Have appliances that burn natural gas (or any other fuel) cleaned and inspected regularly by a natural gas-certified professional.
- Have flues and chimneys cleaned and inspected regularly.
- Have a carbon monoxide alarm installed to provide a warning. Remember that a smoke detector does not give warning of the presence of CO.
- Do not leave vehicles, snowblowers or lawnmowers running in a garage.
- Never use a charcoal or gas barbecue in your house.
A CO alarm
Remember that a CO detector offers good protection, but does not replace an efficient system for venting fumes, annual inspections or regular maintenance of your fuel-burning appliances.
Recommended by building inspectors, occupational health and safety experts and firefighters, CO detectors are sold in department stores. Choose a CSA 6.19 or UL 2034 certified detector, with a reset button.
Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for the installation, testing and maintenance of your detector. Check the warranty, and note when the battery and the detector will need replacement.
If your carbon monoxide alarm sounds:
Open windows and doors to ventilate your home, then assess the situation as follows:
Check whether anyone in your household has symptoms of exposure to carbon monoxide. If so, leave the house immediately and seek medical help. In an emergency, dial 9-1-1.
If no one is suffering symptoms, check the manufacturer’s instructions that came with your CO detector to ensure that it is working properly, and press the reset button. Some detectors beep when the battery is low, or the detector needs reactivating.
Check whether something other than CO triggered the alarm, such as humidity from bathroom or kitchen, chemical fumes or exhaust from a gasoline-powered engine or a nearby wood-burning fireplace.
If you cannot determine the cause and the alarm continues to sound, leave windows and doors open and call a qualified heating contractor to check your natural gas equipment.
Safety tips
The following safety tips apply to all the natural gas appliances in your home.
Properly installed and maintained natural gas appliances are safe, clean and efficient in operation. To ensure your family’s safety, have all your appliances installed and maintained regularly by a natural gas-certified professional. Also have your gas ventilation system inspected regularly. Natural gas-certified professionals are listed in the directory under “Heating”.
Combustion heating appliances need air intake to completely burn the combustion products and gases they produce. The main products of the complete combustion (burning) of natural gas are heat, water and carbon gas.
The pilot light or the flame from the burner in any natural gas appliance should be mostly blue, with a small yellow tip. (The only exceptions are the new natural gas fireplaces, which have ceramic logs and produce realistic yellow flames). If the flame in a natural gas appliance is white, noisy or uneven, this indicates a problem you should not ignore. Have a natural gas technician check and adjust burners and pilot lights.
Keep the area around your natural gas appliances tidy, and do not store anything near them. Do not block the controls, air intakes or exhaust outlets.
After a meter shut-off or a service interruption, your natural gas appliances will need relighting. Call our client service number, 819-771-8321, to make an appointment with one of our technicians.
