--- title: "Gas, fire and burn safety — Range Guides" description: "What to do when you smell gas, how to smother a pan fire, and how to shut a range down when a burner or element will not turn off." url: "https://rangerepair.center/guides/safety-and-food/" --- When to stop using the range # Gas, fire and burn safety guides. What to do when you smell gas, how to smother a pan fire, and how to shut a range down when a burner or element will not turn off. ## Gas, fire and burn safety, guide by guide. A range is the one appliance in the kitchen that combines an open flame or a glowing element, a heavy door that swings out at knee height and a supply line of gas or 240-volt power, all at the spot where people stand to cook. These guides cover the moments when that combination turns from cooking into safety: a smell of gas, a range that could tip, and what burning gas does to the air in the room. [All 18 guides](https://rangerepair.center/guides/) 6-minute read ### [Smell Gas Near the Range? Leave First, Call From Outside](https://rangerepair.center/guides/range-gas-smell-what-to-do-first/) Why no knob, switch or phone gets touched, what to tell the gas utility, where gas can escape on a range, and why a detector backs up your nose. 6-minute read ### [Anti-Tip Brackets: How a Range Tips Forward and How to Check Yours](https://rangerepair.center/guides/anti-tip-brackets-and-tip-overs/) What CPSC found about range tip-overs, what the bracket looks like, the flashlight and tilt checks, why a fitted bracket stops holding, and recalls. 5-minute read ### [Cooking With Gas and the Air in Your Kitchen](https://rangerepair.center/guides/gas-range-and-indoor-air/) Nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide from burners, EPA's figures, a hood that vents outdoors, what flame color means, and habits that make the air worse. ## When to stop using the range. Each guide puts the action first and the explanation second. For gas the order never changes: everyone out, nothing switched, the utility called from outside. For tip-overs it is a flashlight and a gentle tilt before anyone gets hurt. For indoor air it is the hood switched on and a carbon monoxide alarm that works. They are worth reading on a quiet day, especially after moving into a home with a gas range or after a new range has been delivered. None of them asks you to open a panel or loosen a fitting, and every one marks plainly where the owner's part stops and the utility's, the electrician's or a technician's begins. [Not sure where to start?](https://rangerepair.center/guides/#start-here) ### The short answer Smell Gas Near the Range? Leave First, Call From Outside A range gas smell, sulfur or rotten eggs in the kitchen, means getting everyone out of the house without touching knobs, switches or phones, then calling the gas utility and 911 from a safe distance. ### The short answer Anti-Tip Brackets: How a Range Tips Forward and How to Check Yours A range anti-tip bracket is a small metal piece screwed to the floor or wall that holds a rear leveling leg, so the range cannot pitch forward when weight lands on the open oven door. ### The short answer Cooking With Gas and the Air in Your Kitchen Gas range indoor air concerns come from burning fuel in the open kitchen: EPA names gas cooking among indoor sources of nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide. ## 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://rangerepair.center/cost/) 1. 01 Every burner and the oven, tried 2. 02 A price before any part goes in 3. 03 Common parts on board 4. 04 Fixed, then run hot ## The problems these answer. Each has a page of its own, with the causes in the order worth checking. [All 17 problems](https://rangerepair.center/problems/) Gas, fire or electrical risk ### Range Gas Smell 6 causes, cheapest first Problem ### Range Burner Won't Light 6 causes, cheapest first Problem ### Range Burner Keeps Clicking 5 causes, cheapest first Problem ### Range Oven Door Won't Close 6 causes, cheapest first For the heart of your home. ## Questions about gas, fire and burn safety. ### What is the first thing to do if the kitchen smells of gas? Leave the house with everyone in it, without touching any knob, switch or phone on the way, and call the gas utility and 911 once you are well clear of the building. ### Where do the safety figures in these guides come from? From official sources only: CPSC for tip-overs, EPA for indoor air, gas utilities for leaks, and the manufacturers' own installation instructions and manuals. Each guide names its source under the section it supports. ### Will a technician come out for a gas smell? The gas utility comes first, because a suspected leak is its emergency. Once its crew has made the kitchen safe, a diagnostic visit can deal with the range's burners, valves and igniters. ## 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://rangerepair.center/guides/) Why the range is acting that way ### [Common problems](https://rangerepair.center/guides/common-problems/) - [Why a gas burner won't light: clicks, silence and the cap](https://rangerepair.center/guides/why-a-burner-wont-light/) - [Why a glass-top element stays cold or stops glowing](https://rangerepair.center/guides/why-a-glass-top-element-wont-heat/) - [Why a range oven bakes unevenly, from the floor panel up](https://rangerepair.center/guides/why-a-range-oven-bakes-unevenly/) Range checks you can safely make ### [Troubleshooting](https://rangerepair.center/guides/troubleshooting/) - [Five range checks to make before booking a visit](https://rangerepair.center/guides/five-checks-before-you-call/) - [Cleaning burner caps and setting them back so every flame is even](https://rangerepair.center/guides/clean-and-seat-burner-caps/) - [Where the model tag sits on a freestanding or slide-in range](https://rangerepair.center/guides/find-your-model-number/) Keeping the range out of trouble ### [Maintenance and prevention](https://rangerepair.center/guides/maintenance-and-prevention/) - [Glass top range care: pans, sugary spills and the razor scraper](https://rangerepair.center/guides/glass-top-care/) - [Cleaning gas range burners, caps and grates so every burner lights](https://rangerepair.center/guides/burner-and-grate-cleaning/) - [Running a range's self-clean cycle without damage or smoke](https://rangerepair.center/guides/range-self-clean-safely/) Which range suits the kitchen ### [Choosing and comparing](https://rangerepair.center/guides/choosing-and-comparing/) - [Repair or replace a range: which half failed, and what a new one needs](https://rangerepair.center/guides/repair-or-replace-a-range/) - [Gas, electric or induction: how each kind of range heats a pan](https://rangerepair.center/guides/gas-electric-or-induction/) - [Dual-fuel and pro-style ranges: what the extra power asks of the house](https://rangerepair.center/guides/dual-fuel-and-pro-style-ranges/) Set up to last ### [Installation and setup](https://rangerepair.center/guides/installation-and-setup/) - [Behind a Gas Range: What a Sound Connection Looks Like](https://rangerepair.center/guides/range-gas-connection-what-it-should-look-like/) - [The Outlet and Circuit Every Kind of Range Needs](https://rangerepair.center/guides/range-electrical-supply/) - [Natural Gas to Propane: What Converting a Range Really Involves](https://rangerepair.center/guides/converting-a-range-to-propane/) 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 — Range Guides](https://rangerepair.center/guides/safety-and-food/)** **[Book a visit with RangeRepair.center](https://rangerepair.center/schedule/)**