The Okotoks Fire Department wants to make sure that your gas lines are in perfect working order whether it's heating your home or running other appliances that use natural gas.

Fire Chief Ken Thevenot says that appliances are usually the main source of gas leaks in a home.

"If you're furnace hasn't been serviced or your hot water tank has, those are some of the areas for potential leaks," he says. "Maintenance is our biggest push to have them regularly maintained."

Thevenot says there's a couple of ways those particular household items can cause leaks and having a carbon monoxide detector can help you tell if you have a leak if you can't smell it.

"Incomplete combustion in the combustion chambers on the furnaces is one area or some of the lines if they're not serviced or cleaned by a certified technician could lead to some problems, having those detectors would trigger a reaction that there is a leak."

Natural gas is actually odourless but trace amounts of the chemical mercaptan is added to give the gas a rotten egg or sulphur odour to give it a smell for resident to know if there's a leak in their home.

Thevenot says if you think you are dealing with a natural gas leak, don't try to fix it yourself, and call 9-1-1.

"We do a size up of what is going on when we're called out to a leak," he says. "We'll use our gas monitors and our self contained breathing apparatuses to ensure that our responders are taken care of, find out where the source of the leak is and call the experts of ATCO or other gas companies to come in an assist us."

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