Act now
Leave now: smoke, fire or a burning smell
Smoke, fire or a burning smell at the heater or anywhere in the home means get out, stay out and call 911 from outside. Do not go back in to turn the heater or the gas off.
Why this happens
The Red Cross says that if a fire starts, get out, stay out and call 911. Smoke, fire or a burning smell at a gas water heater is a job for the fire department first and a licensed pro after, never something to fix yourself.
Do this now
- Get everyone out of the house now.
- If a door or its handle is warm, or smoke blocks your way out, use another way out. If you must go through smoke, the Red Cross says to get low and go under it. The Red Cross says never to open a door that is warm to the touch, and if smoke, heat or flames block every way out, to stay in a room with the door closed, put a wet towel under the door, call 911 and signal from a window.
- Call 911 from outside.
- Stay out. Do not go back in to turn the heater or the gas off, or for anything else.
- If you also smell gas, tell the 911 dispatcher, and call your gas utility from a safe distance outside too, as the Pennsylvania PUC advises for a gas emergency.
- Once the fire department says it is safe, have a licensed plumber or a water heater technician check the heater before anyone uses it again.
When to stop. Smoke, fire or a burning smell at the heater: get out, stay out and call 911. Do not go back in for anything. Any gas smell: also call your gas utility from outside.
What to tell the plumber
- What you saw, where on the heater, and when.
- That the gas water heater had no hot water before this happened.
- What the fire department found, if they told you.
- The make, model and age of the heater from its data plate, once it is safe to look.
Build the full list: what to tell the plumber.
Start this troubleshooter over
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