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A metal lid resting on a pan on a switched-off gas stove, every knob at off.

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.

(844) 415-7620

Mon–Sat, 8am–8pm

  • Three guides
  • Read before you book
  • Says where to stop

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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
A gas stove in a lived-in US home kitchen just after a small pan fire, a dark skillet sitting under a closed lid on a burner that is switched off, a thin trace of smoke drifting toward the ceiling and nobody at the stove.
6-minute read

Putting Out a Grease Fire on the Stove: Lid On, Heat Off, No Water

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.

A freestanding electric stove in a lived-in US family kitchen, a pot on a back burner with its handle turned inward, and a toddler playing with blocks on the floor behind a low safety gate a few feet away.
6-minute read

Small Children and the Stove: Handles, Knobs and the Oven Door

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.

A gas stove in a quiet, lived-in US home kitchen at night with every burner off and the oven door shut, a plain white carbon monoxide alarm mounted on the hallway wall beyond, and a window above the sink opened a few inches.
5-minute read

Carbon Monoxide and Your Stove: When to Worry and What to Do

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?

The short answerPutting 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 answerSmall 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 answerCarbon 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
  1. 01The stove, tried the way you use it
  2. 02A number before the work
  3. 03Common stove parts already on board
  4. 04Put 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
A US home kitchen with a stainless slide-in stove, a heavy lid resting on a skillet on a front burner, a thin trail of smoke rising from the edge of the lid, every knob turned off and no one standing at the stove. Gas, fire, sparks or a burner stuck on

Stove Smoking

6 causes, cheapest first

 A US home kitchen with a black freestanding electric stove with coil burners, one front coil glowing bright orange with no pan on it and every knob pointing at off, the counters beside the stove cleared and nobody in the room. Gas, fire, sparks or a burner stuck on

Stove Burner Stays on High

5 causes, cheapest first

 A close view of the front of a white freestanding stove in a US home kitchen, one knob missing to show the bare metal shaft, the cracked knob resting in an open palm held beside it, and the other knobs in place. Problem

Stove Knob Broken or Loose

6 causes, cheapest first

 A US home kitchen with a stainless freestanding stove, its oven door hanging open a few inches and sitting crooked on one hinge, an oven rack pulled halfway out behind it. Problem

Stove Door Won't Close

6 causes, cheapest first
A grandparent and a child stirring a pot together on a white gas stove in a lived-in family kitchen
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
A white electric stove with one coil burner dark while the others glow, a saucepan waiting.
Why the stove is doing that

Common problems

A hand resetting the clock on the back guard of a stove after a power cut, the display blank.
Stove checks an owner can safely make

Troubleshooting

Stove knobs soaking in a bowl of soapy water on the counter beside a white gas stove.
Keeping the stove out of trouble

Maintenance and prevention

A white gas stove and a stainless electric stove side by side in a bright kitchen, both clean and off.
Deciding what stove to keep or buy

Choosing and comparing

A freestanding stove on a moving dolly in a kitchen doorway, wrapped in a blanket.
Moving, hooking up and bringing a stove back

Installation and setup

Not sure which section?

Start from your question

The four questions most visits start with, each with the guide that answers it.

18 guidesWhere to start Where to start

Back to your everyday

Let’s get your stove working again.

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Schedule a repair Call (844) 415-7620
(844) 415-7620 Schedule a repair