SaferProducts incident

Failure type

Fire / ignition

Incident narrative

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20230327-680C8-2147348457. Severity: Injury, No First Aid or Medical Attention Received. Matched catalog product: Maytag MER8700DS1. Incident: Our family was getting ready to make dinner. I was pre-heating our Maytag oven (there was nothing in it). It had been pre-heating for 7-10 minutes when our son walked into the kitchen as he smelled something. He noticed flames coming out of the vents that are located underneath the instrument panel of the stove. He yelled for us and my husband was able to pull the stove away from the wall within seconds of catching the wall behind it on fire. We cut the power to the house, but because the fire was inside the backing plate of the oven, we could not get to it without unscrewing the panel on the back. Nothing would be able to put the fire out without getting the plate off. However, the flames were coming out of the vents and areas around the back, they were beginning to get taller and closer to the ceiling. The backing plate was screwed into place and we needed to get tools in order to get it off. My husband sustained burns on his fingers from trying to get the plate off while flames filled the back. We got the plate off the back and put the fire out. The fire began in the motor of the convection fan, which was NOT in use. Our entire home was filled with smoke from the fire and the burning wires.