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I recently had a grease fire on my glass cooktop. thankfully I had a B/C class fire extinguisher handy but now I'm worried that my cooktop is no longer safe to use. does anybody have any advice for me on the subject?

Edit: Sorry for not being more specific. Yes I've cleaned the stove. My main concern is that the glass may be damaged in some way and might crack or explode when is use.

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Fix it. Maybe this is due to gas leakage. – Zeina Feb 15 '13 at 12:40
@Zeina It's an electric glass cooktop, not a gas stove. There's no gas to leak. – Jefromi Feb 15 '13 at 16:16

All cook top safety is the same:

Keep it clean and pay attention!

Glass ranges aren't inherently any more unsafe than a gas or normal electric range. Ranges are just a tool, one that generates a large amount of heat in a small area. Like any tool, you can hurt yourself or others if you don't follow the basic rules of use. Luckily, those rules are pretty easy to follow once you train yourself.

Keeping It Clean

When you are cooking, there is no reason to have anything around the range that you don't need to cook. No papers, no cutting boards, no wine glasses, no anything else. Anything extra is an invitation to spill or something to catch on fire. Nothing good can come of it. Cook with a towel and when you spill, clean it immediately. A clean range can't catch on fire because there is nothing to burn!

Paying Attention

Don't walk away from a range that is on! Almost every kitchen fire could be stopped by the simply having someone looking at the range when the fire started. You should be prepared with the failure signs for the type of cooking you are doing (like if your oil is smoking, you need less heat, or an open flame can ignite even low alcohol content if it's boiling).

If you follow those rules, you will almost never actually need this last one. I've worked professionally in kitchens for 14 years and I've only dealt with one fire that wouldn't have been stopped by the rules above. The final rule?

ALWAYS HAVE A FIRE EXTINGUISHER But it sounds like you already have that one covered.

In case SAJ in the comments is correct and I misinterpreted the question, your range is safe to continue using as long as you didn't crack the cook top or short the burners. The top is sealed, so you shouldn't see any particulate under the glass. If you do, you need to clean the burner assemblies before running current to them. That means wires and the infrared bulbs. Some brands will require this to be done by a trained technician. If the top is cracked, you need a new top, as the crack can redirect the heat or shatter.

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This is lots of great safety information, but I am not sure it answers the OP question about whether the equipment is safe to use now? – SAJ14SAJ Feb 15 '13 at 15:29
@SAJ14SAJ Did they clean up the fire extinguisher? If the answer is yes, then it's safe to use. I assumed the OP meant was the range likely to catch fire again, due to the lack of pertinent details about the state of the range at the present moment. – sarge_smith Feb 15 '13 at 17:05
I guess I did interpret it that way... sometimes, you just have to take your best guess :-) – SAJ14SAJ Feb 15 '13 at 17:44
@SAJ14SAJ no big... I really never thought about the other way to read that question... I appreciate the catch. – sarge_smith Feb 15 '13 at 18:31
Some glass cooktops have touch-sensitive controls built into the cooktop surface. These can be accidentally triggered by drops of water from spluttering pots, wet hands or condensation dripping from overhead fan hoods. In effect, the cooktop rings can spontaneously turn themselves on or up. Leaving aside some pertinent commentary on eccentric design decisions, it makes sense for the owners of these appliances to be extra vigilant. In addition to the advice above, I recommend engaging the child safety lock when not in use, or turning off at the mains if your cooktop has no lock function. – Chris Steinbach Feb 15 '13 at 18:37

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