Get outta the house!

Well, we were just trying to put in a new ceiling fan into our kitchen. We found this...thing that we tought was part of the old light. We just twisted it off and ssssssssssssssssss. We had un-capped a gas line. We quickly ran out of the house and called 911. They were there in 5 minutes. They took a look at it, brought out a gas meter, surveyed for and gas, found nothing, and told us it was clear, even if we still smelled some stuff. I'm now back in the house and typing this. What an adventure! I was afraid that some how, the house would blow up. But, I'm safe now.