How long before disaster struck? (lack of stove vigilance)

Factual Questions
1

I drink a lot of tea, but do not have an electric kettle. I boil the water for my tea in a saucepan on my gas stove.

Earlier today, i set the water to boil and came into my bedroom to check out what was happening on SDMB. I got caught up in a few threads, and forgot the water until a sort of burnt smell reached my nostrils. I raced to the kitchen to find that, even though the lid was on the pot, all the water had boiled away and the pot itself was very hot and smelt terrible.

If i hadn’t noticed what was going on, or had left the house without turning the stove off, what would have been the consequences? Would the pot (made of 18/10 stainless steel) have melted and tipped over, setting fire to the kitchen? Would the base have burned through? How close was i to disaster?

2

I hate to admit that I’ve done this myself, several times. I even checked with a friend who happens to be a physicist. The conclusion was that there’s some chance you could melt an aluminum pot, but no practical way to melt one that’s stainless (or any other type of steel or iron).

But it’s still pretty lame-brained. I got an electric kettle.