Kitchen Range Fires and Explosions: Usability Versus Safety

Abstract

Fires and explosions often result from inadvertent actuation of kitchen range appliances. National Standards, such as ANSI Z21.1 and ANSI/UL858, provide guidance on the design of kitchen range controls to ensure the safe operation of these appliances. This work examines residential gas ranges as investigations of fire and explosion incidents often determine that there was no line leakage of gas and the leaked gas likely resulted from inadvertent contact with the range’s controls. A human factors investigation was conducted to determine under what conditions consumers (or their pets) could inadvertently open a closed gas range valve that was designed in a manner that met the requirements of applicable national standards. The investigation revealed that the range controls met the letter of the standard, but the safety intent of the standard was not met. Safety is sacrificed to afford usability. The control design is defective.