These are steps you need to take if a guest/owner reports a possible smell of gas or possible leak at the residence
Inside
ESCALATE TO MANAGEMENT Please contact in this order.... Engineering Manager and Director of Engineering/Property Operations, if neither responds within 15 min please escalate to Mike Flannery (El Presidente'/Owner)
PROVIDE ALL THE DETAILS.
IN THE MEANTIME WHILE YOU WAIT, proceed with these steps.
Ensure you have your gas leak detector with you (every Engineer has one and has been trained to use it)
If guests are in home, they have to go out of home while we figure out what is going on. Offer to buy them a meal or something but they cannot stay inside, its not their choice, could be very dangerous for guests and we need to ensure their safety.
Engineer, Do not remove smoke or C02 detectors, to make it stop beeping, they need to stay in place.
During the repairs if it is still going off, You can blow air in the little grill on the device to clear it. If the source of leak is easily apparent, use ACME Engineers, who are trained/versed in gas repairs, is an option.
If it is harder to figure out, call A professional plumber immediately. No guessing about this. Either our Engineer is 100% sure they know the problem and have the tools and skills to fix it, or we do not, there is no risking guests or employee safety on a maybe. If we cant fix, and a plumber cannot go, and it is longer than a 4 hours before the plumber can get their, we can call the gas company. Please let the Engineering Manager or Director of Engineering know so they can help you in this decision. The reason we wait for calling the gas company, is that they may put a lock on the meter if they cannot easily find the problem. That makes it impossible for the next person, plumber, etc, to use leak detection equip to find the leak. Obviously this could be an option if no one can find the leak, however anyone can turn off the gas meter to stop the leak, without placing a lock on it. That is why the gas company is the last resort. Having them remove the lock sometimes requires a day at least, and a note from plumber sometimes.
If gas company or plumber finds it and fixes it 100% for sure, guests can return. If no one can locate it, but it still persists, we move guests, but they cannot stay in a house with an active gas leak.
AFTER REPAIR OF LEAK: Engineer replace the carbon monoxide detector after a leak that sets it off, as they are sometimes ruined after a leak and persistent going off.
Outside leak
If leak is outside, and it is on a specific piece of equip and we can secure it, please do so. If it is significant, meaning steady and strong, vs, a tiny whiff now an then, near flame like pool heater or water heater, again, this is treated like an internal gas leak. If we can fix it great, if not we have plumber go to diagnose and repair. If no one can go for 4 hours, have gas company locate, if they cannot, we will need to contact a plumber and relocate the guests. There are vendors that all they do is leak detection, like American leak detectors. If outside but it is very light and intermittent, or not near an open flame source, we can work thru while guest is still in home if they choose to stay.
Keep owner services in the loop so they can update owner.