Boiler Emergency? What to Do First

A boiler emergency is stressful, especially in the middle of a cold North East winter. Knowing what to do in the first few minutes keeps your family safe and often stops a small fault turning into an expensive one. Here is a clear plan for a boiler emergency.

If you can smell gas

Treat a gas smell as the most serious situation of all. Do not touch electrical switches, do not light anything, open the doors and windows, turn the gas off at the meter if you can reach it safely, and leave the property. Then call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999 from outside. This is a free line that runs day and night.

If there is water leaking

Turn the boiler off and, if the leak is heavy, turn off the water supply. Pop a towel or bowl under the drip and do not switch the boiler back on. A leak should always be looked at by an engineer, as we explain in our guide on whether a leaking boiler is dangerous.

If you have no heat or hot water

This is the most common boiler emergency in winter. Check the pressure gauge, check the thermostat is calling for heat, and try a single reset using our guide on how to reset your boiler. If one reset does not bring it back, stop there. Repeated resets can hide a real fault.

When to call for help

If the boiler will not restart, there is a leak, or anything smells or sounds wrong, that is the point to get a Gas Safe engineer out. AR Heating run out of hours cover across the North East from 6pm to 8am, so you are not left without heat overnight. The faster a boiler emergency is seen, the cheaper and safer the outcome usually is.