Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:OMG...haven't any of you ever used the clean function on your oven? Haven't you ever noticed the flames inside as it burns off the gunk? Even if there WERE a fire, it is contained. For fucks sake, do any of you remove the tags from your pillows?
When you clean your oven, the oven locks. If you can lock your oven while using it on a regular non-cleaning setting, you're okay.
But I'm sure those 155000 per year people who all left ovens on unattended all thought they were okay too.
Yes, if the oven locks, you'll be locking the fire in, should such a situation arise. If the door doesn't lock, the stew can simply push the oven door open, and it's free to wreak havoc throughout your house.
As to the original question, it is within the realm of physical possibility that the oven could fail catastrophically--say, if the thermostat failed. Of course, it's more likely that some random wiring issue would burn down your house, oven or no oven. It's several orders of magnitude more likely that lightning could strike your house and burn it to the ground.
If your oven is even reasonably clean, you're using low heat, and the oven is less than, say, 50 years old, you won't have a problem. Or rather, your chances of having a problem are significantly less than the chance you'll be killed by a rollerblader while walking to your office.