When I thought I smelled gas, I nearly went downstairs to check the furnace. That was the familiar household reflex: find the appliance, find the problem. It was the wrong first move.
Leave first, call from outside
Source: Enbridge Gas Ontario: safety
Enbridge Gas advises leaving when you suspect a gas leak and calling for emergency help from a safe location outside. Call 911 for an emergency, including a gas smell. Do not operate lights, switches, appliances or a phone inside. Do not use a flame or try to find the leak yourself.
I got everyone out and made the call outside, away from the building. I followed the emergency operator's instructions. I did not return for a coat or assume that the smell disappearing meant it was safe to go back in.
This is not an ordinary furnace appointment to book for later. Do not wait for a heating company to answer before taking the immediate safety steps. Only return when the responding authorities say it is safe.
Make the household plan while things are calm
Afterward, we talked through the exit route and meeting place. The conversation took a few minutes and did not need a complicated checklist. Everyone needed to know that investigation comes after getting out, and that nobody goes back inside independently.
We also separated gas odour from carbon monoxide in our minds. CO is odourless and requires working alarms; a lack of gas smell cannot tell you that CO is absent.
I wrote the plan in the same folder as our other household emergency information. The part I wanted to remember was short enough to say without opening the folder: leave, call from outside, and wait for the all-clear. The furnace could wait for the people trained to assess it.
