Fireplace help for Tampa Bay homes

Last updated October 29, 2026 · Reviewed by the Fireplace Helpline tech team

Gas emergency numbers in Tampa Bay

• Peoples Gas: 877-832-6747, or 911. Peoples Gas says that if you suspect a natural gas leak, leave the area and call 911, then call its 24/7 line.
• CGS Energy (Clearwater Gas System; North Pinellas and Pasco): 727-462-6633, or 911. CGS Energy says to leave the area immediately, don't try to find or stop the leak, avoid anything that could make a spark, and call its 24/7 dispatch center. If the smell is particularly strong, call 911.

Not sure which company delivers your gas? Use the emergency number on your gas bill. If your gas comes from a tank, see the propane section below.

How Fireplace Helpline works in Tampa Bay

We're a video service, not a local shop, and we don't have an office in Tampa Bay. You book a call, point your phone at the fireplace, and a real fireplace tech guides you by voice. Many problems can be diagnosed, and often fixed, in one call. If yours needs hands-on work, tell us your ZIP code and we'll help you find a local pro.

Flat prices, shown before you book: Quick Fix $49 · Full Diagnostic $89 · Priority Fix $139.

Gas here is mostly for the look

66% of Florida homes heat mainly with electricity and only 5% with natural gas (EIA, 2020). Around Tampa Bay a gas fireplace or log set usually isn't heating the house; it sits off for most of the year, so a pilot that won't light or a remote with dead batteries is the usual first-cool-night problem. Down the coast it's the same story; see South Florida.

Two gas utilities around the bay

Peoples Gas's tariff lists Tampa, Brandon, Temple Terrace and Plant City in Hillsborough County, St. Petersburg, Largo, Pinellas Park and Seminole in Pinellas, and Wesley Chapel, New Port Richey and Zephyrhills in Pasco. The City of Clearwater also runs its own gas utility, CGS Energy, which says it serves many communities in North Pinellas and Pasco counties. Clearwater appears on Peoples Gas's list too, so the company printed on your bill is the one to call.

Faint smell or strong smell?

CGS Energy says a faint gas odor can come from a pilot light that has gone out and needs relighting, but a strong odor means leave your home at once and call from outside. A tech can walk you through relighting your fireplace's pilot by video. If the smell is strong, or doesn't clear, don't relight anything: get out and call.

Florida's CO alarm rule

Florida law says any home or addition built on or after July 1, 2008 that has a fossil-fuel-burning heater or appliance, a fireplace or an attached garage must have a carbon monoxide alarm within 10 feet of each bedroom. Even in an older home, a gas fireplace that's rarely used is worth a working CO alarm nearby.

Propane fireplace in Tampa Bay?

If your fireplace runs on propane (a tank or cylinders outside and a propane company that delivers, rather than a utility gas meter), the utility numbers above aren't your first call. Smell gas? Get out, then call your propane supplier, or 911, from outside.

Propane fireplaces have a few problems of their own: a low or empty tank, a fireplace that won't light after a refill, and a regulator buried in snow or ice. The propane industry's safety guide says that if your tank runs out, your propane supplier or a qualified pro should leak-check the system before the gas goes back on. Our guide covers the safe checks: propane fireplace won't light or stay lit.

Electric fireplaces around Tampa Bay

A lot of Tampa Bay fireplaces are electric: a wall-mount in a Clearwater condo, a media-wall insert in a Wesley Chapel or Brandon new build. We help with those by video too. The safe checks come first: plugged straight into a working wall outlet (no extension cord or power strip), the breaker or GFCI not tripped, fresh remote batteries, then the maker's reset after a cool-down if it shut itself off. If a summer storm knocked the power out, check the breaker once it's back before deciding the unit is broken. We'll never ask you to open the unit or touch wiring. See electric fireplace won't turn on.

Tampa-St. Petersburg fireplace not working? Start here

• Pilot won't light: Clicking but no flame, or no spark at all. The usual causes, in order.
• Pilot lights, then goes out: It lights, but won't stay lit. Usually the flame isn't heating the sensor enough.
• Pilot is lit, burner won't come on: The pilot's burning but the main flame never comes up.
• Propane fireplace won't light: Low tank, a recent run-out or refill, or a regulator under snow. Safe checks first.
• Electric fireplace won't turn on: No power, no heat, or it shut itself off. The safe checks manufacturers list, in order.
• Remote not working: Batteries, switch position, then re-pairing. Steps from the manufacturers.
• Proflame 2 blinking red light: One, two or three red blinks on the control module. What each one means and what to do first.
• Need a replacement part? Send us your model and serial, and a tech matches the exact gas, propane or electric fireplace part.

Common questions

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