Step 1: Rule Out Gas and Carbon Monoxide
Before anything else, confirm you are not facing a gas or carbon-monoxide emergency, because that changes everything.
If you smell gas (a rotten-egg odour), hear hissing near a gas line, or your CO alarm is sounding, stop. Do not flip switches, light anything, or investigate. Get everyone, including pets, out of the home. From outside, call FortisBC's 24-hour emergency line at 1-800-663-9911 or call 911.
This is the one situation that overrides every other step. Only after the gas hazard is cleared should you move on to the appliance itself and call us at 604-359-1081.
Step 2: Stop the Source
If there is no gas concern, your next job is to stop a leak or shut down a misbehaving appliance.
Cut electrical power to the unit at its dedicated switch or the breaker — but never while standing in water. Shut off the water at the appliance's valve, or at the home's main shut-off if you cannot reach the local one. If a gas appliance is clearly malfunctioning and you are comfortable doing so, close its manual gas valve with a quarter turn.
Stopping the source first prevents the situation from getting worse while you sort out the rest. With power and water isolated, a leak can no longer spread or feed.
Step 3: Contain, Document, and Protect
Once the source is stopped, limit the damage and create a record.
Place towels, trays, or buckets under any active drip. Move boxes, electronics, and porous items off the wet floor. Pull back rugs and lift the edges of anything that wicks water. In BC's damp climate, getting things dry quickly is your best defence against mold.
Before you finish cleaning up, photograph or film the source and the spread of water. If you end up filing an insurance claim, that visual record of what happened and how fast you acted is genuinely valuable.
Step 4: Run the Quick Diagnostic Checks
If the problem is lost heat or hot water rather than a leak, a few checks may restore service or at least inform your call.
Confirm the thermostat is set to heat with working batteries. Check the breaker and the appliance power switch. Note any error code displayed on a combi or tankless unit. Verify the gas is on if other gas appliances work. For a boiler, check the pressure gauge, since low pressure can prevent firing.
Write down what you find. Even if these checks do not fix the problem, they give us a head start on the diagnosis when you call.
Step 5: Call GasBoilers.ca
With the home safe and the source controlled, it is time to get a professional repair.
Call 604-359-1081 and describe the appliance, the symptom, what you shut off, and anything you found during your checks. Our parent company, CanroHeat, services boilers, furnaces, heat pumps, and tank and tankless water heaters throughout Greater Vancouver, so you reach one team no matter what failed.
Keep any leaking or unsafe appliance shut off until we arrive — do not restart it to test it, since running a damaged or leaking unit can make things worse. We will give you a clear estimate and get your heat and hot water working safely again.