SAN TAN VALLEY, AZ (AZFamily) — Marianne Guercio reached for the microwave handle and bumped into the electric range below. “I just leaned up against there,” she said. “I bumped and the stove just turned on. That’s how simple this happens.”
Over and over again, Guercio demonstrated how bumping into the knobs on her stove can unintentionally turn it on. “Again!” she said. “Different burner this time.”
One time, Guercio said, an unintentional bump started a small fire. It happened right before her grandson’s birthday party. “We had a lot of people coming. We had a lot of stuff scattered. Normally, we don’t use the stovetop, but because things were everywhere. We did use the stovetop this particular day and had stuff on here,” she said. “[I] happened to lean up against here to get something, not realizing that I pushed up against the knobs.”
Guercio walked away without realizing a burner had turned on. “My little grandson yelled, ‘Mimi!’ and I turned around to see smoke and some small flames,” she remembered.
The label on a plastic peanut butter jar was on fire. “The plastic had all melted, and smoke filled the entire house, alarms going off,” she said.
There is a slew of similar reports filed with the U.S Consumer Product Safety Commission regarding LG electric ranges with front-mounted knobs. In February, the company recalled half a million units because of the fire risk. According to the agency, the recalled ranges have been involved in at least 28 fires, which caused eight minor injuries, pet deaths, and property damage of more than $340,000.
The remedy for the recall, according to the CPSC, is a free warning label, meant to be placed on the range. “Consumers should contact LG for a free warning label and placement instructions. The label reminds consumers to use the Lock Out/Control Lock function on the range control panel to disable activation of the heating elements when the range is not in use,” the recall announcement said.
Guercio’s model number is not included in the recall, but she did receive the warning label from LG. “It’s an absolute joke,” she said. “A dog can’t read the sticker. My grandkids can’t read the sticker. I don’t understand why they don’t think this is a serious issue.”
In a statement to On Your Side, John Taylor, senior vice president of LG Electronics USA, said, “Please note this is not a traditional ‘recall.’ It’s a voluntary action that we’re taking to further commit to product safety and customer service to remind its users of LG’s Lock Out/Control Lock function that disables the activation of the heating elements when the range is not in use.”
“The viewer’s range has the Lock Out/Control Lock feature, which is a patented LG invention explicitly designed to enhance safety. Her experience underscores why it’s important to remind your viewers with LG ranges with front-mounted knobs about this unique safety function,” Taylor added.
In addition to the control lock feature, LG said its ranges include safety features like the “burner on” indicator light and an alert beep that sounds when the burner is activated.
“LG needs to do more,” said William Wallace, the director of safety advocacy for Consumer Reports. “A warning label is the least effective tool you can use to keep people safe. You can make the product designed more safely. You can put a barrier in place to protect people. And then, only way down at the bottom of the list is a warning label, and so truly it is not enough.”
Other manufacturers, including Samsung, have recalled ranges of similar issues. “What Samsung decided to do eventually is they invented a whole new type of safety system for the knobs where now you have to pinch and turn,” Wallace said. “We don’t know where the other manufacturers stand on that right now in terms of their own innovations. We just know that this is something that every manufacturer really needs to focus on. We’re just seeing way too many fires, way too many incidents in people’s homes, and so they need to make this a priority right away.”
Guercio sets the control lock now, but agrees more should be done to protect her family and others. “God forbid, we forget,” she said. “We’re in a household with three kids. We’re busy. It’s easy to forget, and that’s not something I want to take a chance at.”
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