Photo: The Maytag Magic Chef, model CGR1425 ADW/1010 WINS
Posted: Monday, 17 August 2009 7:12PM
First On 1010 WINS: A Brooklyn Man's Kitchen Surprise
NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- A Maytag repairman visited a Brooklyn man's apartment Monday and took a look at his oven, which has been turning on with his cell phone.
Sonia Rincon reports
It's true, says 1010 WINS' reporter Sonia Rincon, who witnessed the "magic" turn on with her own eyes -- and needless to say, it's extremely dangerous.
When Andrei Melnikov's Sony Erickson PDA is within about two feet of the stove, an incoming call will make the Maytag Magic Chef stove beep, and the digital display will light up, indicating that the broiler is on high.
Open it up and you'll see the gas flames streaming out of the broiler's burners as it begins cooking anything inside it in 500-plus degree heat.
The Maytag repairman showed up this morning and said that he needed to order a part -- "a suppressor" -- which should arrive in 7 to 10 days. A Maytag spokesman says this is the first time the company has have ever heard of the issue and they are looking into it.
The first time it happened was last Monday. Melnikov says the phone was sitting on the kitchen counter when it rang. As he answered it, he remembers hearing a faint beep, but as he walked away and spoke with the caller, his mind was on the conversation. Minutes later, he smelled smoke.
He checked his computer and other electronic devices in the apartment on his way to the kitchen. He knew he hadn't turned on anything in there.
But his phone apparently had. And the kitchen was filling with smoke.
When Melnikov ran into the kitchen, he found a piece of plastic cookware left inside the oven on fire, which he quickly removed and doused with water. He called the landlord, explaining that somehow the oven had turned on by itself. Once the landlord was in the apartment, Melnikov remembered the phone call. A test call later, and the culprit had been identified.
Both Melnikov and his wife Lina, who was not home when this happened, say even though this is the first time it happened in the three years they've had both the phone and stove, they can't sleep knowing this might happen again. They fear for their pet chinchillas, and are thankful Melnikov didn't walk out the door with the oven left on.
They are keeping the stove unplugged, but plugged it back in briefly to provide me a demonstration.
The Maytag Corporation tells 1010 WINS they are investigating.
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When Melnikov ran into the kitchen, he found a piece of plastic cookware left inside the oven on fire, which he quickly removed and doused with water. He called the landlord, explaining that somehow the oven had turned on by itself. Once the landlord was in the apartment, Melnikov remembered the phone call. A test call later, and the culprit had been identified.
