In a similar vein to not switching on a light if you smell gas
if the light is already on, do not switch it off. It is the little arc inside the switch that appears when a circuit is made or broken that can ignite the gas. The best advice, if it is safe to do so, is to open all your windows and find your gas meter, which will have a shut-off valve to allow the supply to be cut off
( parttimedogfish is a Born-Again Reincarnationist, Wed 30 Jun 2010, 15:32, 5 replies, latest was 15 years ago)

Very good advice.
I remember being told that once by British Gas, more people should know this.
( Squiggy Alloria makes theme parks., Sat 3 Jul 2010, 12:45, Reply)

...and if someone goes near the switch
shout "NO!" like a drill sergeant



/ancient British Gas advert
( scoshi pretending to diet since, Mon 5 Jul 2010, 12:46, Reply)

I know someone who died in such a manner
I know this to be true.
( Mrs Entity is in hiding., Mon 5 Jul 2010, 22:14, Reply)

Why would you switch a light off if you smelled gas?
"Fuck me - I can smell gas. Let's make it more exciting by fumbling around in the pitch darkness".
( weirdbeard, Tue 6 Jul 2010, 12:56, Reply)

Probably because a lot of people remember from the advert not to switch a light on if they smell gas ... and assume therefore that the light must cause the explosion. Thus, the first instinct would be to turn off the light ...

My mother would SO have done this. She did something similar in thinking she'd fused all the electrics by turning a thermostat in the dark and seeing a spark. The fact that half the lights and TV were still on did not reassure her at all, until I went all GCSE Physics on her.
(jajwhite, Mon 12 Jul 2010, 14:07, Reply)