Smell Gas at Home in Metro Denver? Get Out, Then Call

What should you do in the first two minutes?

1. Get everyone out. People and pets go outside together. Do not hunt for the source or stop to open windows.
2. Leave the door and switches as they are. Do not turn lights on or off on the way out.
3. Move well away. If the odor is outside, go upwind of it.
4. Call from a safe spot. Dial 911, then your gas utility. For Xcel Energy customers, that is 1-800-895-2999.
5. Warn others and wait. Keep neighbors away and stay out until responders or the utility say the house is safe.

What not to touch on the way out

Xcel Energy's safety guidance is specific about sparks. Until you are out of the area, do not:

• Strike a match or lighter
• Use a phone
• Flip electrical switches or unplug anything
• Run appliances, including the garage door opener
• Use metal tools
• Start a car or any engine, especially in an attached garage

The phone rule is the one people break. Make the call after you are outside and away from the house.

How do you know it is a gas leak?

Natural gas has no smell of its own. Utilities add a chemical called mercaptan so a leak smells like rotten eggs or sulfur. Xcel lists three kinds of clues:

Xcel also warns that a leak may have no odor and a small one may make no sound. If something looks or sounds wrong near a gas line, treat it as a leak.

A sewer smell in a basement can also have a sulfur edge, often from a floor drain trap that has dried out. Do not try to sort that out while you are standing in the house. If you are unsure whether you smell gas, leave and call. Utilities would rather check a false alarm than miss a real one.

Which gas utility serves your town?

Xcel Energy holds the franchise for gas service in the City and County of Denver and serves most of the surrounding metro, but not all of it. These are the providers named by local town and utility sources:

Service lines do not always follow city limits, so the bill is the final word. Homes in the foothills and on the eastern plains may run on propane instead of piped gas. In that case, call 911 and then the propane supplier listed on your bill. Our list of towns we cover links to each town page, including Castle Rock, Hudson, Bennett and Thornton, where local utility details are spelled out.

Who fixes the leak, the utility or a plumber?

The gas utility answers the emergency call. Responders check for gas, make the area safe, and may shut off service at the meter. The utility's own lines and meter are its responsibility. Xcel notes it cannot locate lines owned by others, including customer-installed gas lines, which is a reminder that the piping on your side of the meter is generally yours.

Once the utility has made things safe, a plumber who works on gas piping can find and repair a leak in house lines, pressure-test the system, and put the meter back in service once the utility allows it. That is the work covered on our gas line services page for Denver. If an appliance connection was the problem, the plumber may replace an old flexible connector or the shutoff valve at that appliance.

A leak at a water heater's gas valve can raise the question of whether the unit is worth keeping. See water heater replacement in Denver for how that decision usually goes, or the page on tankless units if you are thinking about switching, since they can need larger gas piping.

What if the smell is outside or next door?

Treat it the same way. Move away and upwind, keep people back, and call 911 and the utility. Do not try to shut off a meter or valve that is not yours. If the odor is near a construction site or a fresh trench, tell the dispatcher, because a damaged line may be involved.

Planning to dig? Call first

Hitting a buried gas line with a shovel is one of the common ways leaks start. Xcel's guidance is to request a locate before any digging, even a shallow hole for a post or shrub, then wait the required time, typically two or three business days. Gas lines are marked in yellow. Colorado 811 takes these requests at no cost, but it marks public utility lines only. A private line to a grill, fire pit or detached garage will not be painted, so hand-dig carefully near anything you know is buried.

Getting gas service back after the all-clear

If responders shut off the gas at the meter, do not turn it back on yourself. The utility or a qualified technician restores service, and pilot lights on the furnace, water heater, fireplace or range may need relighting. Before that happens, the leak has to be found and fixed. When you call for repair help, tell the plumber what the utility found, where the meter was shut off, and which appliances were in use when you noticed the smell. That narrows the search and keeps the visit shorter.

Keep any paperwork the responders leave, such as a red tag on an appliance or meter. A tagged appliance should stay off until it is repaired and cleared. Ask the plumber to explain what was wrong and whether a permit and inspection apply to the repair. Rules vary by city. Northglenn, for example, lists gas lines among the work that needs a city permit.

Make a plan before you need it

A gas leak is a bad time to figure out who to call. Take a few minutes now:

• Save 911 and your gas utility's emergency number in every family member's phone.
• Pick a meeting spot outside, such as a neighbor's driveway or the end of the block.
• Make sure children know that a rotten-egg smell means go outside, not tell someone and wait.
• If you rent, find out from the landlord which utility serves the building.

Habits that lower the risk

• Know where your gas meter is and keep the area around it clear.
• Follow the manufacturer's instructions for every gas appliance, and do not rig your own gas connections.
• Have a plumber add or move gas lines rather than doing it yourself, and ask about permits and inspection.
• Teach everyone in the house what the rotten-egg smell means and where to meet outside.

A gas odor is never a wait-and-see problem. Many other plumbing issues can wait for daylight, and our guide on which problems are true emergencies sorts them out. For leaks, burst pipes and backups after hours, see the Denver emergency plumber page. Gas line work in suburbs such as Aurora and Lakewood follows the same sequence: utility first, plumber second.