Home Safety

The natural gas pipeline system is an important part of our community. Pipelines play an important role in everyone's lives and are essential to the nation's industries. Pipelines are the safest most reliable and efficient manner of transporting natural gas and other petroleum products. While we work hard to maintain a safe and reliable system, an occasional leak or damage may occur. In the event a natural gas pipeline is damaged severe injury or death may occur as a result of an ignition, an explosion or asphyxiation. We take many active steps to ensure that the health, safety and security of the communities and the environment along our pipelines are maintained. These steps include, but are not limited to, routine monitoring and patrolling of our pipelines via aircraft, vehicles, and/or on foot using a number of technologies. If you would like more information on how the company maintains its piping system, please contact us at customerservice@lacledegas.com. If you would like more information on the pipeline industry go to www.pipeline101.org. 

Let Us Follow Your Nose
If you detect the odor of natural gas, let us track it down. Leave the building immediately and warn others. Don't turn on or off any electrical appliances as you leave, even light switches or cell phones, to avoid creating a spark. Then, from another location, call us. Also, if your pilot or burner flame is substantially higher than normal, this may be an indication of excess pressure.  Call us immediately.

Suspect a pipeline leak?
There are several signs that can indicate a leak is present. If you see any of these signs, please notify Laclede immediately and we will investigate the situation.

• Hissing sound or odor of gas near a pipeline or in and around any building.
• Ice formation on the ground above a pipeline.
• Distressed or dead vegetation above a pipeline.

Dig safely
Don't accidentally break a gas line or other underground service while digging in your yard. Before you dig, call 1-800-DIG-RITE (1-800-344-7483) or 811 (national one-call number). Or, visit www.mo1call.com to have underground utilities located and marked free of charge. Wait for the locate to be completed. Then, be aware of the marks as you dig carefully with a shovel.  Careless digging can not only damage and disrupt vital utility services, but can cause injury or even loss of life. If a gas line break occurs, go to a safe location and immediately call and report it to MO One Call at 1-800-DIG-RITE and then our emergency line. Also, call 911.

Gas Appliances & Meter Sets Need Their Space
Flammable material close to gas appliances and snow, ice and other debris around gas meter sets and gas appliance vents can create hazardous situations.

Let gas pipes be gas pipes
Gas pipes have a job of their own to do and shouldn't be used for anything else - certainly not clotheslines, free-form closets or grounds for electrical appliances. If a gas appliance is disconnected, be sure the gas pipe is capped. If your gas meter in located inside, we must be given access to it to perform periodic safety inspections. Avoid damp corrosive environments around inside gas pipes and take corrective action if you see a badly corroded pipe. If the badly corroded pipe is on the street (inlet) side of the meter, call our customer service department to report this condition. In most cases, we do not maintain gas piping located beyond the gas meter.

Check your furnace and flue
See that your heating equipment is clean and in good working order. Properly adjusted pilots and burners, clean filters and clear chimneys, vents and flues pay off in both safety and savings. Leaves, bird nests, fallen bricks or mortar can mean problems, including exposure to carbon monoxide (CO). If you find something you can't handle, call us or your heating contractor. If you like, we also can check to see that your other gas appliances have appropriate connectors. Gas appliance service work is not subject to PSC regulation.

Guard against carbon monoxide
Properly working gas appliances are very safe, so your first line of defense against carbon monoxide (CO) is to have your furnace inspected annually, either by us or your heating contractor. If you use a CO detector, make sure it is a UL-approved, alarm-sounding device. If your CO detector alarm sounds, call your local fire department.

Watch your hot water setting
A child's skin burns more easily than an adult's. If you turn up the thermostat on your water heater for any reason, remember to turn it down when you're finished to avoid small children accidentally scalding themselves when the hot water faucet is on.

Check plastic vent pipes
Some furnaces and boilers installed after September 1987 use high temperature plastic vent (HTPV) pipes that could, under certain circumstances, crack or separate. Manufacturers are replacing these venting systems free of charge. To determine if you are eligible for the free replacement program, check the vent pipes attached to your furnace or boiler. If those pipes are gray or black plastic with the names "Plexvent," "Plexvent II," or "Ultravent" stamped on the pipe or printed on the stickers, call 1-800-758-3688 any day between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. As a natural gas customer, you should have your furnace checked and cleaned annually to make certain it is operating safely and efficiently.

Have older, flexible pipe gas connectors replaced
Uncoated brass flexible connectors installed prior to 1977 - generally used to connect appliances such as stoves and dryers with natural gas supply pipes . are susceptible to cracking, breaking and deterioration caused by, among other things, moving, bending, corrosion and possibly also by some types of detergents, cleaning solvents or ammonia, and cooking grease. If you think you have an uncoated brass flexible connector in your home, have your gas company or a qualified service contractor replace it with a new one made of stainless steel or plastic-coated brass. Do not attempt to move an appliance to inspect the connector because moving could strain the connector and possibly cause it to crack. Let your gas company or a qualified service contractor conduct an inspection. It is also a good practice to have a qualified professional inspect and, if necessary, replace any flexible connector that is more than 10 years old.

To reach Laclede Gas in an emergency or report a gas odor:
314-342-0800 (toll calls: 1-800-887-4173)

All other calls:
314-621-6960 (1-800-887-4173)

Missouri Natural District Offices:

• Farmington (573) 431-2020, (573) 783-6451 (Fredericktown) or (573) 546-3539 (Iron County)
• Festus (636) 931-8383 or 1-877-664-2726
• Poplar Bluff (573) 785-9681
• Union (636) 584-8440 or 1-800-675-6577

Before You Dig
1-800-DIG-RITE (1-800-344-7483) or 811 (National One-Call Number)
www.mo1call.com