Who to Call for a Gas Leak in Chicago: 911, Peoples Gas, or a Gas Fitter?
You smell gas in your Chicago home and three phone numbers compete in your head: 911, the gas company, a plumber somebody recommended. Call them in the wrong order and you waste the minutes that matter most — or spend days waiting on the wrong trade for the job. Here’s the complete decision tree, from a fitter who’s been on the receiving end of every version of this call: who to call, in what order, for every gas situation Chicago produces.
The Decision Table: Every Situation, the Right First Call
| Your situation | First call | Then |
|---|---|---|
| Strong gas smell indoors, right now | 911 + Peoples Gas (1-866-556-6002) — from outside | Licensed fitter if the leak is past the meter |
| Faint, intermittent smell that comes and goes | Peoples Gas (free check) | Fitter for instrument detection if they find nothing but it persists |
| Utility came, red-tagged, and left | Licensed gas fitter | Fitter repairs, tests, files affidavit; utility restores |
| Smell outdoors / near the street or meter | Peoples Gas — likely their side, fixed free | Nothing — their equipment, their bill |
| Appliance hookup, new line, meter move, pre-purchase test | Licensed gas fitter directly | Fitter coordinates the utility where needed |
| Hit a buried line while digging | 911 + Peoples Gas immediately; evacuate the area | (And call 811 before digging next time — it’s free and it’s the law) |
| CO alarm sounding (no gas smell) | 911 — say “possible carbon monoxide” | HVAC/combustion service; see our CO vs. gas guide |
Why Peoples Gas Is Always the Right Emergency Call — and Where Their Job Ends
The utility’s emergency line (1-866-556-6002) is staffed around the clock, the response is free, and their technicians make the scene safe regardless of whose pipe is leaking — that combination makes them the correct first call for any active smell, full stop. What surprises Chicagoans is the hard boundary at the meter: if their instruments show the leak is on the building’s side, they will shut off the affected line or meter, tag it, and leave. Not laziness — law. The utility cannot work on private piping, so the tag is a baton pass to a licensed gas fitter, and understanding that handoff is the difference between a one-day restoration and a cold week of calling the wrong number angrier each time. The full restoration sequence lives in our red-tag guide.
When Is 911 the Right Call for a Gas Smell?
Any time the smell is strong, sudden, or paired with hissing, dizziness, or a known cause like a struck line: call 911 from outside along with the utility. Chicago Fire responds to gas calls constantly and would far rather stand down at a false alarm than arrive late to a real one — no dispatcher has ever scolded a caller for evacuating first. For faint trace odors with no other signs, the utility line alone is proportionate. The rule I give every customer: your legs first, then your phone, then the professionals — and never a light switch in between.
“Do I Need a Plumber or a Gas Fitter?” — The Chicago Answer
In Illinois, gas piping is licensed work, and while some plumbing shops carry the license and do gas well, gas is often the fifteenth service on a twenty-service truck. The questions that sort the field in one phone call: Do you publish gas pricing? Do you pull the Chicago permit on every gas job? Do you perform the pressure test and affidavit yourselves, and do you know Peoples Gas restores per account? Confident yeses mean you’ve found competence, whatever the company calls itself. Hesitation means keep dialing. (For the record, my answers are: yes — it’s all on this site; yes, ~$75, every job; and yes — per account, all lines one visit, which is the sentence that gets multi-unit buildings back on in a day.)
The Calls That Don’t Need Emergency Numbers at All
Half of gas work is scheduled, not screamed: appliance hookups after a delivery-crew refusal, new lines for ranges and garages, pre-purchase pressure tests inside an inspection window, meter moves ahead of a basement build-out. For all of it, skip the utility queue and book the fitter directly — the utility only enters when accounts or their equipment are involved, and coordinating that is part of my job, not yours.
Chicagoans’ Who-Do-I-Call Questions, Answered Straight
Is calling Peoples Gas about a smell really free?
Yes — the emergency response, the safety check, and any repair on their side of the meter cost you nothing. It’s the best free service in the city and the reason “utility first” is never a wasted call.
The gas company checked and found nothing, but I still smell it. Who now?
A licensed fitter with instruments — the utility’s check is a safety response, not an exhaustive private-side diagnostic, and slow weeps past the meter get missed. Detection runs $75–$400 and settles ambiguous smells definitively.
Who do I call about a gas smell in my apartment building’s hallway?
Strong smell: 911 + Peoples Gas from outside, same as anywhere. Faint recurring: the utility, plus written notice to your landlord or association — common-area piping is their responsibility, and the paper trail matters. Our who-pays guide has the escalation script.
What’s the number to report a gas leak in Chicago?
Peoples Gas emergency: 1-866-556-6002, 24/7. Add 911 for strong smells, hissing, symptoms, or a struck line. Save the utility number in your phone now — the moment you need it is a bad moment to search.
Does 811 handle gas leaks?
No — 811 (JULIE in Illinois) is the before-you-dig locate service that marks buried utilities so you don’t cause a leak. Free, legally required before any digging, and a call I make before every trench. For active leaks: 911 and the utility.
Who moves a gas meter — the utility or a contractor?
Both, in sequence: Peoples Gas moves their equipment (the meter itself), a licensed fitter rebuilds the building’s piping to the new location, and the choreography between those visits is the whole job. Details on our meter relocation page.
Past the Meter, I’m the Call.
Utility handles their side free — and for everything on the building’s side, same-day across Chicago: pinpoint, repair, test, restoration paperwork, published prices.
☎ Call (773) 200-2148Related guides: Red-Tagged? The Restoration Sequence · Carbon Monoxide vs. Gas Leak · Who Pays in a Rental? · All guides