[RayB]

My daughter has had some water pipe leaks in her house. All of which have been fixed. However she will be away from the house for a period of time and I suggested she turn off the main water into the house just to be sure that no further leaks show up while she is gone. But she has a gas hot water heater and she is questioning if it is safe to leave the hot water heater on after shutting off the water. The concern is if there is a hot water pipe leak the water heater will drain and then possibly cause a fire. She does not know how to shut off the gas heater including the pilot flame and then start up when she returns. Is it OK to leave gas hot water heater on after shut off of the water?