Is no heat an emergency?
No heat is an emergency when the outdoor temperature is below freezing, when anyone in the house is elderly, an infant, or unwell, or when indoor temperatures are heading below about 13°C — the point at which pipes in exterior walls start to be at risk. In a New Brunswick winter a house without heat can reach that point in a few hours, so it is usually worth the after-hours call.
Need someone now?
24/7 emergency service · Fredericton and southern New Brunswick
What you can safely check
- Check the indoor temperature and the trend
- Note it now, then again in an hour. A house holding at 18°C is a different problem from one falling two degrees an hour.
- Check the forecast overnight
- A mild night is survivable. A −20 night with no heat is not something to wait out.
- Who's in the house?
- Infants, elderly or unwell people lower the threshold considerably. Don't wait it out for their sake.
- Protect the plumbing
- Open cupboards under sinks on exterior walls and run a thin trickle from the furthest tap. Moving water is much harder to freeze.
What’s probably going on
- Call now
- Below freezing outside, house below 13°C and falling, vulnerable people at home, or any smell of gas or burning.
- Morning is fine
- Mild outside, house holding above 16°C, everyone well, and you have a space heater for one room.
- Never wait
- Gas smell, CO alarm, burning smell or sparking. That's 911 or the gas utility first, from outside the building.
Stop here and call
If you smell gas or rotten eggs, hear hissing, or your CO alarm sounds: leave the building first, then call 911 or your gas utility from outside. Do not flip switches or troubleshoot.
What we do about it
We take emergency calls 24/7 at (506) 472-9954. If we genuinely cannot get to you tonight, we will say so rather than leave you waiting, and tell you how to protect the house until we can.
Still stuck?
Tell us what the system is doing and we’ll tell you what it takes to fix — free quotes, no obligation, and a straight answer about whether it’s worth repairing.