Heating Emergency in Winter: What to Do First

What are the first safety rules?

Safety comes before comfort. These steps are the generally accepted guidance for households in Canada:

• Gas smell: if you smell rotten eggs or suspect a gas leak, do not use switches, phones or flames inside. Get everyone out, then call the gas utility’s emergency line or the local emergency number from outside.
• Carbon monoxide alarm: if it sounds, or people have headaches, dizziness or nausea while a fuel-burning appliance is running, leave at once and call emergency services. Do not go back in to look for the cause.
• Never attempt gas repairs yourself. Relighting pilots, adjusting gas valves and opening gas components belong to a licensed gas fitter.
• Never heat the house with a barbecue, oven or camp stove.
• Use portable generators and propane heaters only as their instructions allow, and never run a generator indoors or in an attached garage.

What can you safely check if there is no gas smell and no alarm?

A short list of checks solves many calls:

1. Is the thermostat set to heat, with a temperature above the room reading, and do the batteries need replacing?
2. Is the furnace switch on, and has a breaker tripped or a fuse blown?
3. Is the filter badly clogged?
4. Is the gas valve to the furnace open, and is gas working elsewhere, for example at the stove?
5. Are outside vent pipes clear of snow or ice?
6. On a high-efficiency furnace, is the condensate drain frozen or blocked?

If none of these helps, stop. Do not remove panels or tamper with gas connections.

When should you call a technician, and what should you say?

Call a licensed technician if the furnace will not start after the simple checks, if it shuts off repeatedly, if you hear unusual noises or see soot or scorching, or if the flame is yellow rather than blue. Tell the dispatcher your equipment type, age, what you checked and any error codes shown on the control board. Ask about emergency rates and response times up front, since after-hours charges differ. A service plan, covered in whether an HVAC service plan is worth it, may set response times.

How do you keep the house and pipes safe while waiting?

Heat loss turns into frozen pipes if the house cools for long. Close doors to unused rooms, pull curtains at night and open them in sunny rooms by day. Let taps drip slightly on exterior walls if freezing is a risk, and open cabinet doors under sinks so room air reaches the pipes. Know where the main water shutoff is, so you can use it if a pipe bursts.

Use electric space heaters only plugged directly into a wall outlet, never in extension cords, and keep them clear of bedding and curtains. If the house will drop towards freezing for more than a day, consider staying elsewhere. An elderly person, infant or anyone ill needs a warm place sooner.

What about heat pumps and prevention?

A heat pump in a cold snap may run its defrost cycle, which is normal; see heat pump defrost and noise. If it stops entirely, check the breaker and thermostat mode, then call a technician. Prevention helps most: book a service in the fall as described in the furnace tune up guide, keep a carbon monoxide alarm on every level and near sleeping areas, and consider a backup heat source, as discussed in hybrid heat pump systems. For general preparation see the winter home energy checklist.

Drake Landing homes drew most of their heat from a shared solar district heating system with a gas backup. Even so, a failed household heating appliance calls for the same safety steps.

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