One of the major causes of fire after an earthquake is leaking natural gas. In an event like this, first responders and utility personnel will no doubt be overwhelmed. If you have natural gas service at your home, it is important that you know how to turn it off in an emergency.

Of course, earthquakes are not the only reason you need to know how to turn off natural gas service. A malfunction of an appliance, failure of the flexible supply line or some other internal problem could cause a leak and require you to quickly get the gas turned off.

Locate your meter on the outside of your house. You should see one pipe coming out of the ground and going into the meter, where it should be marked on the meter as “inlet” or a similar term. Another pipe will come out of the meter and either go inside your home or back into the ground, where it will enter your home before ground level. On the inlet side where the pipe comes out of the ground you should see the shut-off valve.

Take a look at the meter and observe the dials. This is where the gas company reads the number of cubic feet used so that they can bill you. Notice the speed at which the dials, particularly one or two of them, are turning. It will be helpful to observe them when your furnace is running and when it is not so that you know the normal speed at which they turn.

A dial turning abnormally fast could be an indication of a gas leak. Besides the rapidly turning dial, you can also detect the presence of a leak by the unique smell or by a hissing sound. If you suspect that there is a leak, you will want to get the gas turned off quickly.

The shut-off valve will rotate a full 360-degree turn. If the tab on the valve runs parallel with the pipe, it is turned on. If it is perpendicular to the gas pipe, it is off. In the off position, there will be two holes at the valve that will line up so that it can be locked in the off position (which is what the gas company will do if you do not pay your bill).

There is a rectangular block on the end of the valve that you use to turn it off. You can turn it with a pair of pliers; however this is not the best way as you must be able to hold the jaws of the pliers tight as you turn it. You can also use a large adjustable wrench set to the proper size. In an emergency, especially if you are not completely focused, you may not be able to find a wrench and set it properly.

I recommend that you obtain an inexpensive tool specifically designed for this purpose, available at Amazon. Using a zip-tie, attach the tool directly to the gas meter. In an emergency situation, you can quickly grab the tool, break the zip tie and turn off the valve. Having this tool immediately available instead of having to go look for an adjustable wrench could be the difference between getting the gas turned off or having an explosion.

Once you have turned off the gas for any reason, do not turn it back on. When you believe reason you turned it off has been resolved, call the gas company. Their knowledgeable service personnel will inspect the appliances in your home and, if they determine it to be safe, turn it back on for you.