MetaChat - Exciting day?

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27 October 2015

Exciting day? We woke up to the smell of gas inside and got everyone up and out this morning - but now I'm wondering if I over or under reacted?

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We had our furnace replaced yesterday, and the heat/ac stopped working last night around 6pm. We let the landlord know, and he said that he would check it out today.

When I woke up at 5am this morning, I smelled the faint smell of gas. I went ahead and grabbed a quick shower, and then woke up my partner, who sort of smelled it, but wasn't sure. So he grabbed a quick shower while I packed, and then said he could definitely smell it in the bathroom. We woke up my niece, had her grab a quick shower and gather her stuff as we packed up the animals.

Total time from waking up to leaving - 1.5 hours. Too long? I also unplugged things and turned on lights, which I now know I'm not supposed to do.

Our landlord didn't want us to call the gas company, so we didn't, and he acted like it wasn't a big deal at all, so now I'm second guessing myself. Everything online was all "omg, get out of there" when I looked it up.

I'd far rather over react to this than under react, since, you know, death. but what would you have done, or have you done, in similar situations?

post by: needlegrrl at: 14:59 | 13 comments

I would have just opened some windows, called the gas company and waited for them to arrive. For potential gas leaks they show up super fast. Last time I had to call them for gas smell, I think they arrived in less than 15 minutes.

posted by amro 27 October | 16:07

Oh and fuck the landlord, if you smell gas you call the gas company.

posted by amro 27 October | 16:08

I remember smelling gas once at my folks house when I came home after school. I didn't stay in the house and called my dad from a cell phone and he said that we didn't have any gas service so it was unlikely to be an issue but he did come home and verify that everything was okay. (Turned out it was a tipped over empty gas can in the basement.)

I'd always go for safety in potential to overreact situations.

posted by sperose 27 October | 18:31

I would open doors and windows and call the gas company. And get the family out of the house. The worst thing about overreacting is you might feel silly. The worst thing about under-reacting ...

glad you're okay.

posted by theora55 27 October | 18:44

We (an old roommate and I) called 911 once because we smelled gas...the firemen figured out it wasn't gas, it was a slightly warm BBQ grill that the downstairs neighbors had brought inside. Oops. Oh well! As said above, the worst thing about it was feeling silly.

posted by ThePinkSuperhero 27 October | 19:32

Seconding amro. Fuck your landlord on this particular point.

posted by msali 27 October | 21:29

Thanks! I feel better now - next time I will opt for opening windows, calling the gas company, and getting out of there!

posted by needlegrrl 28 October | 07:22

Safety first! I'm glad you took action. And your landlord is an idiot.

posted by bearwife 28 October | 13:39

Ugh, yes, call the gas company. Did your landlord get it fixed?

posted by Senyar 28 October | 14:56

If I smell gas we all get out NOW. Showers? No. Fuck the landlord. Get the fire department to sniff for gas before going back in.

posted by arse_hat 29 October | 02:23

He did get it fixed - since the furnace was replaced the day before, the leak was from that. (not sure how/why)

I was wondering about the showers - 5 am pre-coffee is not the best time to make life decisions. Also thinking about storing essential things (or copies) offsite or in a grab bag. having to gather animal food/supplies was sort of a pain! (but oh-so-necessary)

posted by needlegrrl 29 October | 10:50

Probably departure before shower might be best. I think planning for efficient departure at times of emergency, including storing things offsite, is smart. So is having a good emergency kit at home. You'll never be sorry to have planned ahead for crises.

posted by bearwife 29 October | 15:49

I'd probably have opened windows and called too, but as you say, 5 am isn't always prime decision-making time, so who knows.

Glad it's fixed, in any case.

posted by tangerine 30 October | 00:09

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