--- title: "Grease, fire and air — Range Hood Guides" description: "What to do when a pan catches fire under the hood, when sparks or a burning smell come from it, when the hood starts pulling away from its mount, and how the…" url: "https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/safety-and-food/" --- Keeping people, the kitchen and the air safe # Grease, fire and air guides. What to do when a pan catches fire under the hood, when sparks or a burning smell come from it, when the hood starts pulling away from its mount, and how the hood keeps cooking fumes out of the air you breathe. ## Grease, fire and air, guide by guide. A range hood hangs directly over open heat, carries a motor and wiring at head height, and collects grease every time someone cooks. That combination produces three kinds of danger this section deals with: oil igniting in a pan beneath the canopy, a heavy hood that starts to come away from its wall or ceiling, and the quieter matter of what cooking puts into the air a household breathes. [All 18 guides](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/) 5-minute read ### [A Grease Fire Under the Range Hood: Lid On, Burner Off, Never Water](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/a-grease-fire-under-the-hood/) How oil warns before it catches, the NFPA and USFA order of steps, the moment to get out and call 911, and what to look for in the filters and canopy afterwards. 5-minute read ### [A Range Hood Pulling Away From the Wall or Ceiling: Clear the Space Below](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/a-hood-pulling-away-from-the-wall/) The gap, the sway and the dust that give it away, why the breaker goes off and nobody props it up, and what studs and ceiling framing have to carry. 5-minute read ### [Cooking Fumes and Indoor Air: What a Vent Hood Actually Removes](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/cooking-fumes-and-indoor-air/) Smoke, grease mist, steam and combustion gases, why a ducted hood ventilates and a recirculating one only filters, and the habits that let the canopy catch the plume. ## Keeping people, the kitchen and the air safe. The guides here are written for two moments. One is the first minute after the flames or the lurch, when the reader needs the order of steps, not the theory. The other is the calm evening afterwards, when it is worth understanding why it happened, what the hood looks like when it is damaged, and what to change so it does not happen again. The rule under all of them is the same. People come first, then the heat source or the electricity, then the appliance. For a grease fire that means a lid and the burner knob, never water, and leaving the house when the flames will not go out. For a hood that has shifted it means an empty space beneath it and the breaker switched off. Nobody in the household reaches up inside the chimney cover or unscrews the blower housing; that is where a technician's work begins. Every instruction on fire and air is taken from the agencies that publish them: NFPA and the U.S. Fire Administration for kitchen fires and carbon monoxide alarms, EPA for nitrogen dioxide and ventilation, the Home Ventilating Institute for how hoods capture smoke, and the makers' own installation manuals for what holds a hood up. Each source is printed beneath the passage it supports. [Not sure where to start?](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/#start-here) ### The short answer A Grease Fire Under the Range Hood: Lid On, Burner Off, Never Water For a grease fire under a range hood, NFPA and USFA give the same order: cover the pan with a lid or a flat baking sheet, switch that burner off, leave the cover on until the pan is cold, and never throw water. ### The short answer A Range Hood Pulling Away From the Wall or Ceiling: Clear the Space Below A range hood pulling away from the wall or ceiling is carrying its weight on fewer fixings than it was hung with. ### The short answer Cooking Fumes and Indoor Air: What a Vent Hood Actually Removes The link between a range hood and indoor air quality is simple: a hood that is ducted outdoors removes cooking smoke, steam and, over gas burners, nitrogen dioxide at the source, which EPA names as the most effective step. ## 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://rangehooderepair.center/cost/) 1. 01 Airflow, speed by speed 2. 02 A figure before any work 3. 03 Common parts in the van 4. 04 Pulling steam before we go ## The problems these answer. Each has a page of its own, with the causes in the order worth checking. [All 17 problems](https://rangehooderepair.center/problems/) Stop cooking under it ### Grease Fire Under or Inside a Range Hood 6 causes, cheapest first Stop cooking under it ### Hot Electrical or Burning Smell at the Range Hood 6 causes, cheapest first Problem ### Grease or Oily Water Dripping From the Range Hood 6 causes, cheapest first Stop cooking under it ### Range Hood Pulling Away From the Wall or Ceiling 6 causes, cheapest first For the heart of your home. ## Questions about grease, fire and air. ### A pan just caught fire under the hood. What do I do? Get a lid, or a baking sheet, over the pan and turn off the heat beneath it; keep it covered until everything is cold. Never throw water. If it does not go out, get everyone outside, close the door and call 911. ### The hood has a gap at the top and seems to move. Is it urgent? Yes. Nobody cooks or stands beneath it, its breaker goes off, and nobody pushes or props it. The fix is a take-down and a rehang into solid framing. ### Does a recirculating hood clean the air? It traps grease and some odor, but it returns steam and combustion gases to the room. HVI states it provides no actual ventilation; a hood ducted outdoors is what removes them. ### Should the hood be used after a fire was drawn into it? Not until it has been inspected. Heat can warp filters, melt light covers and reach the blower wiring and the duct, none of which an owner should open. ## 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://rangehooderepair.center/guides/) What the hood is telling you ### [Common problems](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/common-problems/) - [Why the hood stopped pulling smoke: filters, the damper and the air around it](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/why-the-hood-stopped-pulling-smoke/) - [Why a range hood gets loud: buzzing filters, a chattering flap and worn bearings](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/why-a-range-hood-gets-loud/) - [Why the hood fan runs on its own: heat sensors, delay-off and a keypad in the sun](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/why-the-hood-fan-runs-on-its-own/) Checks you can make from the floor ### [Troubleshooting](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/troubleshooting/) - [Ten minutes of range hood checks from the breaker to a paper-towel draw test](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/range-hood-checks-before-booking/) - [Reading the hood indicator lights: filter timers, heat protection and blinking keys](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/reading-the-hood-indicator-lights/) - [Find the range hood model label behind the filters, inside the canopy or below the counter](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/find-the-range-hood-model-label/) Habits that keep it pulling for years ### [Maintenance and prevention](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/maintenance-and-prevention/) - [Cleaning Mesh and Baffle Filters Without Bending or Dulling Them](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/cleaning-mesh-and-baffle-filters/) - [When to Change Charcoal Filters in a Recirculating Hood](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/when-to-change-charcoal-filters/) - [A Yearly Range Hood Check: Mounting, Fan Speeds, Steam Test and the Outside Cap](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/a-yearly-range-hood-check/) Which hood, and fix or replace ### [Choosing and comparing](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/choosing-and-comparing/) - [Ducted or Recirculating Hood: What Leaves the House and What Stays](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/ducted-or-recirculating-hood/) - [Wall, Island or Insert: Picking a Range Hood Shape That Catches the Plume](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/wall-island-or-insert/) - [Repair or Replace a Range Hood: The Shell, the Part and the Woodwork Around It](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/repair-or-replace-a-range-hood/) Size, duct, damper and make-up air ### [Installation and setup](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/installation-and-setup/) - [Sizing a Range Hood: Width, Mounting Height and CFM for Wall and Island](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/sizing-a-hood-and-its-airflow/) - [Range Hood Duct Runs and the Backdraft Damper: Size, Elbows and the Cap Outside](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/duct-runs-and-the-backdraft-damper/) - [Make-Up Air for a Strong Range Hood: The 400 CFM Line and What It Protects](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/make-up-air-for-a-strong-hood/) 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: Grease, fire and air — Range Hood Guides](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/safety-and-food/)** **[Book a visit with RangeHoodeRepair.center](https://rangehooderepair.center/schedule/)**