Gas cooking and gas drying are ordinary in a lot of houses. The ordinary rule is still: fuel in the room without a flame is an emergency, not a repair tip. You do not need to decide whether it is the valve, the regulator, or a burner cap while you are standing in it.
Know where the appliance shutoff is — behind the range, under the cooktop, or on the dryer supply — before you need it. If you cannot reach it without standing in the smell, leave and use the outdoor meter or call the gas utility from outside.
If you smell gas, leave
Do not flip light switches, unplug things, or keep sparking the igniter. Open a window on the way out if it is next to you. Call from outside. This sits above any appliance advice on this site.
Ignition versus supply
A burner that clicks without lighting, once, with no odor, can be a wet igniter or a cap that is not seated. Clicking for a minute while you smell gas is not that story. A dryer that tumbles without heat and without odor is more likely an igniter; odor is still a stop.
After a scare
Do not “test” by opening the valve a crack. When someone returns to the appliance, they should be prepared to leak-check connections, not to light a burner to see what happens. If the flexible connector was ever moved or kinked, say so.
