Emergencies
What to do in an emergency
We take emergency call-outs 24 hours a day, seven days a week — including nights, weekends and bank holidays. If we can't pick up straight away we're usually on another job, so leave a message and we'll call you back as soon as we're free. If anyone is in immediate danger, call 999. For a suspected gas leak or carbon monoxide, follow the steps below first, then call us once you're safe.
Call 07951 635 201Step by step
Common emergencies
If you smell gas
- Open doors and windows to ventilate the property.
- Don't turn any power or light switches on or off, light a flame, or use anything that could spark — including your phone indoors.
- Turn the gas off at the mains tap if you can reach it safely. It's usually by the meter, with a handle you turn a quarter turn.
- Get everyone out of the property.
- From outside, call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999 — free, 24 hours a day.
If the smell is coming from a cellar or basement, don't go in at all — leave the property and call 0800 111 999.
Following Cadent Gas emergency guidance. Once the network engineer has made it safe, we can check and repair your appliances.
Carbon monoxide alarm sounding
- Turn off the gas appliance if it's safe to do so.
- Open doors and windows to let air in.
- Leave the property and get into fresh air.
- Call the Gas Emergency Helpline on 0800 111 999.
- If anyone feels unwell, get medical help — NHS 111, or 999 if someone is struggling to breathe or has lost consciousness.
Symptoms to watch for: headache, dizziness, nausea, breathlessness, collapse, loss of consciousness. Carbon monoxide has no smell — an alarm is the only reliable warning.
Following Gas Safe Register guidance. Don't use the appliance again until a Gas Safe registered engineer has checked it.
Burst pipe or major leak
- Turn the water off at the stop tap — usually under the kitchen sink. Turn it clockwise.
- Turn off the heating, then open all your taps to drain the system quickly.
- If there's any water near your electrics, switch them off at the mains.
- Soak up escaping water with towels to limit the damage.
- Call us for an emergency repair — and check whether your home insurance covers it.
Worth finding your stop tap now rather than during a flood. It's usually under the kitchen sink, or where the mains enters the property.
Following Thames Water guidance.
Frozen pipe, or no heating in a cold snap
- Turn the water off at the stop valve, and open the taps so water can escape as the ice melts.
- Thaw it slowly — a wrapped hot water bottle or warm towels. Never a naked flame, blowtorch or heat gun; rapid heat splits the pipe.
- As it thaws, run a dry cloth along the pipe to check for leaks before you turn the water back on.
- Leave the heating on low rather than off while the cold weather lasts.
- Call us if it won't thaw, if you find a split, or if the boiler still won't fire.
Before a freeze, isolate and drain any outside tap — those are usually the first to go.
Following Thames Water guidance.
Who to call
Not sure who to ring first?
In an emergency the order matters. Work down this list.
1 · Immediate danger
999Fire, someone injured, or anyone who has collapsed or can't breathe. Always first.
2 · Gas or carbon monoxide
0800 111 999National Gas Emergency Service — free, 24 hours. Ring them before us for any gas smell or CO alarm; they make the property safe.
3 · Then call us
07951 635 201Burst pipes, leaks, no heating or hot water, frozen pipes — and to repair or check appliances once the gas engineer has made things safe. If we can't pick up we're on another job; leave a message and we'll call straight back.
Not sure what you need?
Tell us what's going on and we'll point you the right way.