--- title: "Gas, fire and burn safety at the stove — Stove Guides" description: "Putting out a grease fire on the stovetop, keeping small children away from the knobs and the oven door, and knowing when a stove could be a carbon monoxide…" url: "https://stoverepair.center/guides/safety-and-food/" --- Keeping the household safe around the stove # Gas, fire and burn safety at the stove guides. Putting out a grease fire on the stovetop, keeping small children away from the knobs and the oven door, and knowing when a stove could be a carbon monoxide worry. ## Gas, fire and burn safety at the stove, guide by guide. This section is about the moments at the stove when the question is not what is wrong with it but whether anyone could get hurt. A pan of oil that has caught, a toddler reaching for a knob or an open oven door, and a carbon monoxide alarm going off on a winter night each have a short, known first move, and it is worth learning that move before the evening it is needed. [All 18 guides](https://stoverepair.center/guides/) 6-minute read ### [Putting Out a Grease Fire on the Stove: Lid On, Heat Off, No Water](https://stoverepair.center/guides/putting-out-a-grease-fire-on-the-stove/) How oil in a skillet catches, sliding a lid across it, why water and a walk to the sink spread the fire, flames in the oven and what to check before the next meal. 6-minute read ### [Small Children and the Stove: Handles, Knobs and the Oven Door](https://stoverepair.center/guides/stove-safety-with-small-children/) A three-foot clear zone, handles turned inward, the control lock and knob covers, the cabinet above, and checking that an open oven door cannot tip the stove. 5-minute read ### [Carbon Monoxide and Your Stove: When to Worry and What to Do](https://stoverepair.center/guides/stove-carbon-monoxide-and-when-to-worry/) How a gas smell differs from carbon monoxide, the uses that turn a gas stove into a source, the symptoms, what to do when the alarm sounds and where alarms belong. ## Keeping the household safe around the stove. The three guides deliberately keep the appliance for last. Putting out a pan fire comes down to a lid and a knob, not a phone call to us; keeping small children safe is mostly a matter of how the kitchen is arranged; and a carbon monoxide alarm sends everyone outside before anybody looks at a burner. Where a figure appears, such as the three-foot clear zone or the list of poisoning symptoms, it comes from NFPA, the U.S. Fire Administration, CPSC, CDC, Ready.gov or the stove maker's own manual, and the source is printed beside the part of the guide it supports. Read them when you move into a home with a stove you did not choose, when a baby starts to crawl, or before the first cold snap of the year. Each guide ends by saying where your part stops and the fire department, the gas utility or a technician takes over. [Not sure where to start?](https://stoverepair.center/guides/#start-here) ### The short answer Putting Out a Grease Fire on the Stove: Lid On, Heat Off, No Water A grease fire on the stove is put out by sliding a well-fitting lid, a cookie sheet or a flat tray over the pan, turning the heat off and leaving the cover on until the pan is cold. ### The short answer Small Children and the Stove: Handles, Knobs and the Oven Door Stove safety with small children rests on four habits and one check: a clear zone of at least three feet around the stove while cooking, pot handles turned inward over the back of the stovetop, nothing tempting stored above the stove, the control lock or knob covers in use, and an anti-tip bracket that actually holds the stove when someone steps on the open oven door. ### The short answer Carbon Monoxide and Your Stove: When to Worry and What to Do Stove carbon monoxide is a real concern when a gas stove or oven is used to heat the home, runs for hours with its air blocked by foil or grill plates, or burns yellow and leaves soot on pans. ## When reading is not enough. If the checks in these guides did not settle it, the visit picks up from there, stop by stop. [What repairs cost](https://stoverepair.center/cost/) 1. 01 The stove, tried the way you use it 2. 02 A number before the work 3. 03 Common stove parts already on board 4. 04 Put back, then cooked on ## The problems these answer. Each has a page of its own, with the causes in the order worth checking. [All 17 problems](https://stoverepair.center/problems/) Gas, fire, sparks or a burner stuck on ### Stove Smoking 6 causes, cheapest first Gas, fire, sparks or a burner stuck on ### Stove Burner Stays on High 5 causes, cheapest first Problem ### Stove Knob Broken or Loose 6 causes, cheapest first Problem ### Stove Door Won't Close 6 causes, cheapest first For the heart of your home. ## Questions about gas, fire and burn safety at the stove. ### Oil in my skillet just caught fire. What do I do first? Slide a lid, a cookie sheet or a flat tray over the pan, turn the burner off and leave the cover on until the pan is cold. Never use water, and never carry the pan. If the flames have spread beyond the pan, get out and call 911 from outside. ### Why does a stove with an electric top still appear in a guide about carbon monoxide? An electric or induction stove makes no carbon monoxide itself, but the alarm in its kitchen can still be set off by a furnace, a water heater, a car or a generator. The steps when it sounds are the same whatever kind of stove you have. ### What is the single most useful safety check on a stove in a home with children? Confirming that the stove is held by its anti-tip bracket, because an open oven door is exactly what a small child climbs on. It takes a flashlight and a couple of minutes. ## The other sections. Split by what you are trying to find out rather than by which part of the appliance it concerns. [All guides](https://stoverepair.center/guides/) Why the stove is doing that ### [Common problems](https://stoverepair.center/guides/common-problems/) - [Why my stove won't turn on: dark panel, cold burners or a silent oven](https://stoverepair.center/guides/why-my-stove-wont-turn-on/) - [Why a stove burner stays on high, and how to stop it first](https://stoverepair.center/guides/why-a-stove-burner-stays-on-high/) - [Why the stove keeps clicking with the knobs off, lit or baking](https://stoverepair.center/guides/why-the-stove-keeps-clicking/) Stove checks an owner can safely make ### [Troubleshooting](https://stoverepair.center/guides/troubleshooting/) - [Stove checks after a power outage, from the dark to the reset](https://stoverepair.center/guides/stove-checks-after-a-power-outage/) - [A burner that quit after cleaning: water, caps, coils and knobs](https://stoverepair.center/guides/a-burner-that-quit-after-cleaning/) - [Reading the stove display: normal signs, locks and real errors](https://stoverepair.center/guides/reading-the-stove-display/) Keeping the stove out of trouble ### [Maintenance and prevention](https://stoverepair.center/guides/maintenance-and-prevention/) - [A weekly stove cleaning routine for burners, knobs and the oven](https://stoverepair.center/guides/a-weekly-stove-cleaning-routine/) - [Keeping stove knobs working: cleaning, loose knobs and the parts behind them](https://stoverepair.center/guides/keeping-stove-knobs-working/) - [A stove in a rental: what the tenant looks after and what the landlord repairs](https://stoverepair.center/guides/stove-care-in-a-rental/) Deciding what stove to keep or buy ### [Choosing and comparing](https://stoverepair.center/guides/choosing-and-comparing/) - [Is it worth fixing an old stove, or time to buy a new one?](https://stoverepair.center/guides/fix-the-old-stove-or-buy-new/) - [Gas or electric stove in a remodel: settle it before the walls close](https://stoverepair.center/guides/gas-or-electric-stove-for-a-remodel/) - [Heritage and cast iron stoves explained: AGA, La Cornue and ILVE at home](https://stoverepair.center/guides/heritage-cast-iron-stoves-explained/) Moving, hooking up and bringing a stove back ### [Installation and setup](https://stoverepair.center/guides/installation-and-setup/) - [Moving a Stove Without Hurting the Floor, the Gas Line or the Stove](https://stoverepair.center/guides/moving-a-stove-without-damage/) - [A Stove After a Flood or Storm: Before You Cook on It Again](https://stoverepair.center/guides/a-stove-after-a-flood-or-storm/) - [Behind the Stove: What the Cord and Outlet Should Look Like](https://stoverepair.center/guides/what-the-stove-cord-and-outlet-should-look-like/) Not sure which section? ### Start from your question The four questions most visits start with, each with the guide that answers it. 18 guides Where to start Where to start --- **[Read on the site: Gas, fire and burn safety at the stove — Stove Guides](https://stoverepair.center/guides/safety-and-food/)** **[Book a visit with StoveRepair.center](https://stoverepair.center/schedule/)**