Click the play button on the video window to the right to see the storyIt's a scary thought since most of us have one.
According to investigators, the fire in Ann Mau's kitchen began in the microwave.
"I entered the house and looked down the hallway and saw black billowing smoke coming out of my kitchen," Mau said.
"It was apparently caused by some kind of electrical or mechanical defect in the control panel of the microwave," said Hudson, Ohio Fire Chief Bob Carter.
The microwave wasn't in use at the time of the fire, according to Mau, and she's not alone in saying that.
The official report on another fire in Michigan listed the cause as undetermined, but concluded it started with the microwave or the area near it.
"What caused this fire? Nothing was on. We didn't cook all day that morning. We didn't cook the night before," said owner Ron Nicol.
A common link between these fires is that both homeowners had GE over-the-range microwaves.
Now, GE's facing a class action lawsuit over the units.
Attorney Hassan Zavareei, who is handling the case, described them as having "dangerous defects that cause the microwaves to, without any user interference, just catch on fire," Zavareei said.
According to the lawsuit, "the models at issue are branded with the 'GE' logo and are sold as GE model microwave ovens. GE markets these ovens under various names, such as 'Spacemaker' or “Over-the-Range” microwave ovens.'
Mesa resident Robert Berman is considering whether to join the class action suit.
He had a slightly different experience with his GE microwave.
"I was just making microwave popcorn," Berman said. "It suddenly burst into flames. The sidewall had a large flame shoot out from it, and I just instinctively reached out and shut it off."
Fortunately for Berman, he caught it in time.
GE replaced the unit for free, he said, but still charged him $50 for shipping.
"It's probably a rare occurrence, but it is still a pause for thought," Berman said.
With an estimated 12 million GE over-the-range microwaves in homes across the country, how do you know if yours could have a problem?
For now, you don't.
Zavareei told ABC15, "We do not yet know the number of microwaves that have the alleged design defect, but we believe that numerous models are implicated."
Scott Wolfson, spokesperson for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, said, "It is an issue that has been brought to our attention and that we are taking very seriously. We are looking into the matter. We will keep the public updated if there are further results from the work we're doing. I wish we could give consumers a little more, but we can't go into too much detail at this point."
GE has not been served with the lawsuit yet, and the company is standing behind its products.
"GE microwaves have an admirable safety record," Kim Freeman, a GE spokesperson, told ABC15 via email. "In 2008 we had no claims of house or kitchen fires related to overheated connections or components in the control area of any of our OTR microwaves, and only 13 reported incidents of smoke damage or scorching of adjacent cabinets...All of our microwaves comply with Underwriters Laboratories safety standards and are built to GE's additional safety specifications."
That's little comfort to Ann Mau.
"It's scary to think what could have been," Mau said.
While there's been no recall, the CPSC wants to know about problems you might have had with your GE microwave.
To report an incident to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, fill out the
Consumer Product Incident Report or call 1-800-638-2772.
