An alert plumber is credited with saving a home in Overland Park, Kansas, last week from a potentially dangerous gas leak. Dan Riden, owner of Riden Plumbing Co., was replacing an external waterline when he discovered an unmarked gas line and quickly notified the contractor.

Contractor Steve Larson says if he had dug deeper he would have yanked out the gas main and could have caused a dangerous leak.

“If I were to hit that line, there’s a real potential of spark, and if that spark goes, then we got fire and we’ve got big fire because it’s going to be fed by a 2-inch or 3-inch gas line,” he told Fox 4 News.

Riden, who provides residential and commercial plumbing services in the Greater Kansas City Area, makes it a practice to call Dig Safe in Kansas and Dig Rite in Missouri to have utility lines located and marked before beginning work.

Kansas Gas Service said most of the lines were marked at the Overland site, except for one.

Riden called the state regulatory agency to report the incident. A Kansas Corporation Commission inspector is investigating.

The homeowner says he’s glad the alert plumber noticed the gas line before it was too late.