Safety checklist
Stop and call now checklist
This list is for the moments when a home problem might be dangerous and you are not sure whether to keep investigating. It does not tell you how to fix anything. It tells you which warning signs mean you should stop, get everyone safe and phone for help before doing anything else.
If anyone is in danger, hurt, or you smell gas or see fire or smoke, leave the building and call your local emergency number from outside (911 in the United States). Do not use this page first.
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How to use this list
Read down the headings and tick anything that matches what you are seeing. If you tick anything in group 1, stop reading and leave. Group 2 and group 3 items are the ones people most often talk themselves out of, because the home still seems to be working. Water near electricity, heat or burning smells at a fixture, and fast-changing structural movement are the patterns safety organizations repeatedly warn about, and they are the reason this list exists.
What it does not do
A blank list does not mean a problem is safe. It only means none of these specific signs is present right now. Plenty of serious problems are quiet, such as slow leaks inside walls or an overloaded circuit that has not tripped. If something feels wrong and is not on the list, treat that feeling as a reason to call a licensed professional, not as a reason to open a wall or a panel. Nothing on this page asks you to touch wiring, gas lines or load-bearing parts of the house, and nothing on the site should be read as permission to do so.
Why gas and carbon monoxide come first
Gas utilities and fire services say the same thing: if you smell gas, get out first, then call from a safe place, and let the utility or emergency crew make the area safe. Carbon monoxide is odorless, so an alarm or a group of people feeling unwell at once is the signal. Neither is a place for troubleshooting.
Where this comes from
The warning signs come from published public-safety guidance on gas leaks, carbon monoxide, electrical fire prevention and flood damage from fire departments, gas utilities, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission and the National Fire Protection Association. The list is a general summary, not a code, and local rules and emergency numbers differ outside the United States. This is general information, not professional advice or an inspection.