--- title: "Gas, fire and burn safety — Cooktop Guides" description: "What to do about a gas smell, how to put out a pan fire on the cooktop, and how to shut down a burner or zone that will not turn off." url: "https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/safety-and-food/" --- When to stop using the cooktop # Gas, fire and burn safety guides. What to do about a gas smell, how to put out a pan fire on the cooktop, and how to shut down a burner or zone that will not turn off. ## Gas, fire and burn safety, guide by guide. Most cooktop trouble is a nuisance: a burner that clicks, a zone that ignores a pan. The three guides in this section cover the moments that are not a nuisance at all. Gas escaping from a burner valve or from a fitting inside the base cabinet, a glass top that has split over the wiring beneath it, and an induction zone switched on within reach of someone whose heartbeat depends on an implanted device each call for a clear first move before any thought of repair. [All 18 guides](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/) 7-minute read ### [A Gas Smell Over the Cooktop: What to Do in the First Minutes](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/cooktop-gas-smell-first-steps/) Why no knob, touch key or downdraft switch gets touched, where gas runs in the cabinet below, what to tell the utility and when a burner may be lit again. 6-minute read ### [Cracked Glass Cooktop: Power Off, Hands Off, Then Replace the Top](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/cracked-glass-cooktop-what-to-do/) The breaker or the plug first, why cleaning a crack is a shock risk, telling a crack from a pan mark, how glass gets broken and what replacing it involves. 5-minute read ### [Induction Cooktops, Pacemakers and Other Implants](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/induction-and-implanted-medical-devices/) What an induction zone gives off, the distance heart-device makers advise, habits that keep it at the counter, and questions for the device clinic. ## When to stop using the cooktop. The first move is different in each case, and that is the point of reading them separately. A gas odor means walking out and phoning from the street. A crack means the breaker, or the cord of a gas-on-glass model, and then leaving the glass dry. An implant means distance at the counter and a question for the cardiologist, with figures taken from the device makers rather than from rumor. Read them on an ordinary afternoon, ideally the week you move into a house whose cooktop someone else picked. Nothing here asks you to open a junction box, loosen a gas fitting or lift the top out of the counter; each guide marks the line where your part stops and the gas utility, an electrician or a technician takes over. [Not sure where to start?](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/#start-here) ### The short answer A Gas Smell Over the Cooktop: What to Do in the First Minutes A cooktop gas smell, the rotten-egg or sulfur odor utilities add to natural gas, means leaving the house at once without touching a burner knob, a light switch, the downdraft control or a phone, then calling the gas utility or 911 from a safe distance outdoors. ### The short answer Cracked Glass Cooktop: Power Off, Hands Off, Then Replace the Top A cracked glass cooktop should not be used or cleaned. ### The short answer Induction Cooktops, Pacemakers and Other Implants Cooking on an induction cooktop with a pacemaker or implanted defibrillator is generally a question of distance: Medtronic advises keeping at least 2 feet between an induction cooktop and the heart device. ## 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://cooktoprepair.center/cost/) 1. 01 Each burner and zone, tried in turn 2. 02 The price, before any part is fitted 3. 03 The usual parts in the van 4. 04 Repaired, 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://cooktoprepair.center/problems/) Gas, fire, broken glass or live current ### Cooktop Gas Smell 5 causes, cheapest first Problem ### Cooktop Igniter Keeps Clicking 5 causes, cheapest first Problem ### Cooktop Burner Won't Light 6 causes, cheapest first Gas, fire, broken glass or live current ### Glass Cooktop Cracked 6 causes, cheapest first For the heart of your home. ## Questions about gas, fire and burn safety. ### The kitchen smells of gas and the cooktop is off. What is the very first thing to do? Walk everyone out of the house, leaving every knob, touch key, downdraft switch and light switch exactly as it is, and phone the gas utility or 911 only once you are outdoors and well away from the building. ### Does a cracked top need the same urgency as a gas smell? It needs a quick response of a different kind. Nobody has to leave the house, but the zones stay off, the breaker or plug is switched off once the glass has cooled, and nothing is wiped until the glass is replaced. ### How were the figures in this section chosen? Only from official sources: state regulators and gas utilities on leaks, cooktop makers' manuals and installation instructions on glass and wiring, and implanted heart-device makers on induction distance. The source is printed below the part of each guide it supports. ## 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://cooktoprepair.center/guides/) Why the cooktop behaves that way ### [Common problems](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/common-problems/) - [Why a cooktop burner clicks but won't light, from the cap to the downdraft](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/why-a-cooktop-burner-clicks-but-wont-light/) - [Why a radiant cooktop element blinks off or never turns red](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/why-a-radiant-element-cycles-or-stays-dark/) - [Why an induction cooktop ignores a pan: magnet, size and center](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/why-induction-wont-recognize-a-pan/) Cooktop checks you can safely make ### [Troubleshooting](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/troubleshooting/) - [Cooktop checks worth making before you book a technician](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/cooktop-checks-before-booking-a-visit/) - [Unlocking a touch-control cooktop that ignores every key](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/unlock-a-touch-control-cooktop/) - [Finding a cooktop model number without pulling it from the counter](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/find-a-cooktop-model-number/) Keeping the cooktop out of trouble ### [Maintenance and prevention](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/maintenance-and-prevention/) - [Cleaning a glass-ceramic cooktop without harming the glass or the seam](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/cleaning-a-glass-ceramic-cooktop/) - [Cookware that marks or scratches cooktop glass, and the pans that are safe](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/cookware-that-marks-or-scratches-glass/) - [Cleaning a cooktop's downdraft vent: grate, grease filter and chamber](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/cleaning-a-downdraft-vent/) Which cooktop suits the kitchen ### [Choosing and comparing](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/choosing-and-comparing/) - [Repair or replace a cooktop: the cutout, the supply and the part that failed](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/repair-or-replace-a-cooktop/) - [Gas, radiant or induction cooktop: heat, wiring and upkeep compared](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/gas-radiant-or-induction-cooktop/) - [Rangetop or cooktop: front knobs, a notched counter and a bigger extractor](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/rangetop-or-cooktop/) Set up to last ### [Installation and setup](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/installation-and-setup/) - [Cooktop Cutout Dimensions and a Counter That Fits](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/cooktop-cutout-and-countertop-fit/) - [A Cooktop Over a Built-In Oven: Approved Pairs and Cabinet Height](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/cooktop-over-a-wall-oven/) - [Under the Cooktop: Junction Box, Conduit and Gas Shutoff](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/cooktop-wiring-and-gas-shutoff-under-the-counter/) 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 — Cooktop Guides](https://cooktoprepair.center/guides/safety-and-food/)** **[Book a visit with CooktopRepair.center](https://cooktoprepair.center/schedule/)**