Colder weather brings out the need to heat your home. Many homes use natural gas to provide that heat in the winter months. With winter just getting started, Ameren Illinois is reminding residents of safety tips when it comes to a natural gas leak. Gina Meehan-Taylor with Ameren Illinois says once you get a whiff of that rotten egg smell, get out and fast. “We say: smell gas, leave fast,” Meehan-Taylor said. “So as soon as you smell that natural gas, you don’t know how bad it is. We just want you to get out of the house, don’t flip any switches on or off because we don’t know where that level is and we don’t want to cause a spark. So we want you to get out of the house, get down the street, down the road a little bit and give us a call from your cell phone at 1-800-7-55-5000.” Ameren’s emergency response line is open and ready 24 hours a day, and crews will be at the scene within an hour of the report.
