Can you smell gas?

A friend of mine gave me the shocking answer to this question the other day. There were some workmen in her apartment, completing a small 15 minute job. Although she could smell gas she assumed it was something they were doing and ignored it. After they left she could still smell it so she opened her balcony door and all the windows, and also switched on a fan. She then sat in the apartment (she works from home) for 4 hours until her husband came home and was met with a very strong smell of gas. The gas stove had been knocked slightly at some point during the morning and had been leaking gas for the rest of the day! And, here’s the thing, my friend had sat in it for so long that she could no longer smell it.

Luckily this story has a happy ending….they left the apartment as quickly as possible to air it, and took the opportunity to have a coffee date! However, things don’t always turn out so well so, if you DO smell gas take the following steps:

Leave as quickly as possible.
Do not use anything that could cause a spark ie a cell phone, light switch etc. Absolutely DO NOT SMOKE!
Once outside call the gas company.
Even if you have stopped the leak (stove burner on or similar) still get out of the building until it has had time to disperse.