Home Safety
Smell rotten eggs? Get everyone out first. Don't flip switches, unplug anything, or start a car in an attached garage. From outside, call SoCalGas's 24-hour line (1-800-427-2200) or 911. Repairs begin only after the utility makes it safe.
If this is happening right now: leave the house first, call 911 or SoCalGas from outside.
This page is the full explanation for calmer moments. The step-by-step first-minutes playbook is on Emergency Help: What To Do First . Call Power Pro after you're safe: (833) 212-2124 .
A suspected gas leak has exactly one correct sequence, and it starts with your feet, not your phone.
Gas concentrates invisibly, and the ignition energy needed is tiny — static from clothing can be enough at the wrong concentration. Utility responders carry combustible-gas detectors and know how to make a scene safe. Your job is distance; theirs is detection. There is no version of 'just checking the water heater closet' that's worth it.
The utility's job ends at making the situation safe — often by shutting off the meter or the affected appliance. SoCalGas notes that property owners are responsible for the gas lines on their side of the meter, so getting your appliances back means finding and fixing the actual leak: a failed fitting, a corroded line under the house, a flex connector past its life, or an appliance valve. In Los Angeles, installing gas piping requires a plumbing permit (beyond a short appliance connection), and the California Plumbing Code (§1213.3) requires new gas piping to pass a pressure test at inspection to prove it holds.
In our experience, residential gas leaks usually come down to age and vibration, not drama: decades-old black iron rusting in a damp crawl space, appliance connectors that were never replaced when the appliance was, and fittings loosened by years of small earthquakes. SoCalGas advises having customer-owned lines periodically inspected for corrosion and leaks — easy to fold into any plumbing visit — and a seismic shutoff valve at the meter closes the line automatically in a significant quake.
Treat any gas odor as real until proven otherwise. Intermittent faint odors are classic early-stage leaks — a fitting that weeps when the line pressure or temperature changes. Call SoCalGas's 24-hour line to have it checked — SoCalGas says it will send an employee to investigate any leak indications — and if a leak is confirmed, have the line repaired by a licensed plumber.
The utility makes the situation safe — investigating the leak and shutting off the meter or the affected appliance as needed. SoCalGas states that property owners are responsible for maintaining the gas lines on their side of the meter, so repairing the house side is the homeowner's job, done by a licensed plumber with a permit and a pressure test.
Yes — a home with the gas shut off has no hot water and possibly no heat, so we treat post-shutoff repairs with emergency priority. Real people answer our phones 24/7, and we handle the repair, the permit, and the inspection and pressure test that come before service is restored.
Sources
Last reviewed: 2026-09-30
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Real people answer around the clock. Tell us what's going on and we'll dispatch a licensed pro from the office nearest you.
