If I have a gas leak in my home, will I die?

Natural gas occurs in its rawest state as a colorless, odorless gas formed over millions of years within the Earth. It has resulted from millenniums of compression of decomposing organic materials in the same way that other fossil fuels were created. Consumers access natural gas through millions of miles of pipelines that extract the hydrocarbons from their earthen reservoirs, remove impurities and transport it as mostly methane gas.

If you have a gas stove, there are about five to 15 parts per million of natural gas in the air inside your home. More than 30 parts per million crosses into dangerous levels of natural gas and indicates a faulty stove. How do you know if the methane levels in your house are safe? You can buy a natural gas detector or a carbon monoxide detector that will sound an alarm if gas levels exceed a safety threshold.