Smell Gas in Durham? Here Is What to Do

What should you do, in what order?

1. Get out now. Take people and pets out the closest door. Belongings can wait.
2. Do not hunt for the source. Enbridge says not to search for or try to repair a leak.
3. Put distance between you and the smell. Cross the street or go to a neighbor's house.
4. Call from there. Dial 911 or Enbridge Gas North Carolina at 1-877-776-2427. Enbridge lists both and asks that you call from a safe distance.
5. Stay out. Do not go back inside until responders tell you it is safe.

That is the entire emergency plan. The rest of this page is about understanding the risk and what happens once the house has been checked.

What can set off a leak?

Any small spark or flame can ignite gas that has built up indoors. Enbridge's leak guidance tells people not to:

• Use phones, switches or electronics inside
• Turn lights or appliances on or off, in either direction
• Smoke, or strike a match or lighter
• Start a vehicle nearby
• Stay inside or try to fix the problem
• Fight a gas fire; if gas is burning, call 911

The same caution applies to garage door openers, doorbells and thermostats. If it runs on electricity, leave it alone until you are outside.

Should you open the windows?

Only if it costs you no time. Enbridge's guidance is to evacuate immediately, leaving doors and windows open behind you if you can do that safely and without delay. Walking room to room to open windows keeps you in the building longer, which is the opposite of the goal. Open the door you are leaving through, and leave it open.

How do you know it is natural gas?

Natural gas has no odor on its own. Utilities add an odorant called mercaptan so that a leak smells like rotten eggs or sulfur. Enbridge lists these other warning signs:

• Hissing or whistling near the meter, pipes or an appliance
• Damaged or loose connections on gas appliances
• Dead or dying grass or plants along a buried gas line

Not every bad smell is gas, but trying to tell the difference while standing in the house is not worth the risk. If you are unsure, treat it as a leak, leave and call. If the utility finds no gas and the odor turns out to come from a drain, that can be handled later.

Who answers the call where you live?

Piped natural gas in Durham and the surrounding counties comes from Enbridge Gas North Carolina, the utility formerly known as PSNC Energy, which Enbridge acquired in 2024. Availability varies street by street, and many rural homes have no piped gas at all. In Bahama's ZIP code, for example, about 35 percent of homes heat with propane and fewer than 1 percent with utility gas, according to ACS-based figures compiled by City-Data.

If you do not know which company supplies you, call 911. Dispatchers do not need the utility's name to send help.

What if the smell is faint, or only near one appliance?

Follow the same steps. A faint odor near a range, dryer, furnace or water heater can come from a loose or damaged connection, which Enbridge lists among the warning signs of a leak. The strength of the smell does not tell you how much gas is in the room, and you cannot judge from inside whether it is building. Leave, call from outside and let responders measure it.

The same goes for a smell outdoors near the meter or along the path of a buried line. Move away from the area, keep others back, and call 911 or Enbridge from a distance. Do not try to tighten fittings at the meter.

Does everyone in the house know the plan?

A leak is a bad time to explain what to do. Talk it through ahead of time with everyone who lives in or regularly stays at the home, including older children, house sitters and relatives:

• A rotten-egg smell means leave, not investigate.
• No light switches, phones or appliances on the way out.
• Meet at a set spot, such as a neighbor's driveway.
• Call 911 or 1-877-776-2427 from there.

Saving the Enbridge emergency number in every phone, and posting it inside a kitchen cabinet door, removes one step when it counts.

What happens after responders arrive?

The fire department or an Enbridge technician checks the house and the meter area. If they find a leak on the utility's side, the utility fixes it. If the leak is on the house side, they may shut off gas to the home or to the appliance involved, and the repair becomes the owner's responsibility. Enbridge's safety page says property owners are responsible for maintaining the gas piping from the meter, as well as keeping their appliances in working order.

This is the point to bring in a plumber. Typical house-side problems include a loose or corroded flexible connector behind a range or dryer, a failing valve at a gas water heater, or a leak in buried yard piping. A plumber can find the leak, repair it and pressure test the system so service can be restored. You can arrange gas line repair in Durham, or look for help with gas piping in Chapel Hill and Pittsboro gas lines. Ask who will pull any permit the repair needs.

Do not turn the gas back on or relight appliances yourself after a shutoff. Wait for the utility or the person who did the repair to confirm it is safe.

Buried gas lines are often the owner's

Many homes have gas piping running underground from the meter to a detached garage, pool heater, outdoor grill or outbuilding. Federal pipeline rules require gas operators to tell customers about this piping. Under 49 CFR 192.16, the notice must say that the operator does not maintain the customer's buried piping, that unmaintained piping may corrode and leak, that it should be inspected periodically for leaks (and for corrosion if it is metal) and repaired if unsafe, and that it should be located in advance and dug around by hand. The rule notes that plumbing and heating contractors can help locate, inspect and repair it.

That matters when you dig. Contact NC811 at least three working days before any digging, by calling 811 or 1-800-632-4949. Marking is free, but only publicly owned lines are marked. Your own line from the meter to the grill will not be flagged. If you strike a line and smell gas, leave the area and call 911.

Is a gas smell a plumbing emergency?

The smell itself is a 911 and utility call, not a plumbing call. A plumber becomes the urgent call afterward: when gas has been shut off and you have no heat or hot water in cold weather, or when a tagged appliance has to be fixed before service comes back. Deciding whether to call tonight or wait can help you weigh that, and an emergency plumber in Durham may make sense during a cold snap. The same steps apply in Oxford and Roxboro.

How can you lower the odds of a leak?

• Get gas appliances inspected every year. Enbridge recommends annual inspection by a qualified heating contractor.
• Install carbon monoxide detectors. Enbridge lists them as part of protecting your home; put them near sleeping areas and test them.
• Keep the meter and vents clear. Enbridge says to clear debris, snow and ice off the meter and appliance exhaust vents.
• Be careful moving appliances. Sliding a range or dryer can kink or loosen its connector.
• Plan gas upgrades with the piping in mind. A new tankless water heater can need more gas than the existing line supplies, so ask about sizing before you buy.