Don’t Let a Gas Leak Break Your Heart — Make Safety Your True Valentine

Cameron Stephenson, CoServ’s Manager of Gas Field Safety Compliance, highlighted some important lessons that everyone who lives in a home with natural gas should know.

Read through them, then apply what you learned by completing the crossword
puzzle on the next page. Send in your answers for a chance to win a prize!

• Fireplace safety: Whether your fireplace uses natural gas or just burns wood, it’s important to have it professionally inspected and cleaned by a chimney
  sweep each year.
• Burning smell: It’s normal to have a burning smell if you haven’t used your heater in a while. Dust particles build up on the heating element, and then burn off when it’s turned on.
• Carbon monoxide (CO): Carbon monoxide is the byproduct of burning natural gas. It’s odorless and tasteless and hazardous to your health. That’s why it’s important to make sure gas appliances and chimneys are properly ventilated. Also, check to make sure your CO detectors are working and change the batteries twice a year.
• Gas smell or hissing sound: If you smell rotten eggs or hear a hissing sound at the meter, call 911 and the CoServ Gas Emergency line (844-330-0763) immediately. They
  will send a CoServ Gas Technician to your home to perform a leak investigation.
• Calling 811: CoServ Gas has more than 2,500 miles of underground pipelines serving more than 171,000 Customers. To avoid accidentally hitting a gas line, or any other utility line, call 811 before starting any digging project 16 inches or deeper. This ensures the lines are properly marked with flags and paint so they won’t be hit by a shovel or excavator.