Cooking appliances carry the risk of large open flames at the burners and there
are specific requirements to prevent fires and explosions occurring. If there is a
collision and your cooking appliance is knocked over or damaged this could
cause a leak in the pipework. To minimise the risk of this happening, cooking
appliances (including those with gimbals - swinging mounts) must be firmly
secured. It's a good idea for gimballed cooking appliances to be secure at all
angles of heel.

Smoke was spotted coming out of a galley cupboard, next to a solid fuel stove that was lit. The internal timber framework of the cupboard was alight, and a serious situation was only just averted by the quick thinking owner who extinguished the fire. The heat from the solid fuel stove had transferred from the stove through the tiled surface approximately 75mm away and onto the timber framework of the galley unit beneath the tiles. Had the smoke not been noticed so quickly, the consequences of this incident would certainly have been much worse. [8.3]

In the event of a fire at the cooker, nearby surfaces could also catch light and
spread the fire. To reduce the risk of this happening, materials near cooking
appliances must be non-combustible or protected against the spread of flame
to Class 1 of BS 476-7.

It's recommended that there is a gap of at least 25mm (1ins) between an
appliance and any surface which is likely to reach 50oC or above. Laminated
plastic, e.g. 'Formica', can be accepted as a fire retardant when fixed in a
vertical position.

Combustible materials, and materials without a Class 1 surface 'spread of flame'
rating, must not be placed within the specified distances of cooking appliances.
Cooking appliances in place before 3 January 2000 do not have to meet the
distance requirements provided that there are no signs of heat damage to any
woodwork or other combustible materials, including curtains near to them. [8.4]