Watch CBS News

Exploding Oven Glass Bigger Problem Than Previously Thought

(CBS) -- Glass oven door are exploding, sending glass flying and in  some cases causing injuries.

The 2 Investigators exposed this potential safety threat weeks ago; now, there is a request for a recall after a local woman speaks out about one oven in particular.

Alice Rollins of Chicago keeps  sounding the alarm about a potential danger in kitchens across the country, and now there is mounting pressure to recall a popular oven with glass doors that have been exploding.

She came to the 2 Investigators a month ago for help when her Kenmore 790 model glass oven door spontaneously exploded, sending glass everywhere.

In the past year, the Consumer Product Safety Commission received 123 complaints of oven glass breaking. Kenmore received the most complaints – 52.

Rollins says she's "terribly worried" it could happen to someone else.

Now, a national watchdog advocacy group called the The Safety Institute revealed new stats going back four years that show 337 complaints involving Kenmore oven glass doors exploding.

"This has been a series of problems where there is some potential for harm," says Abe Scarr, director of the Illinois Public Interest Research Group.

The Safety Institute is urging the Consumer Product Safety Commission to order a recall.

Rollins' oven, the Kenmore 790 model, made up the overwhelming majority of cases.

"A recall is important because it reaches people who don't know that this door might exlode in their face or in their childrens' faces," she says.

Of the 337 exploding glass oven door complaints, 286 were for the Kenmore 790 model.  Rollins paid to fix her own oven and says she's got no help from Kenmore or Sears.

 

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.