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September 12, 2005 - The horrific death of an elderly woman in a tiny town in Vermont has set off a chain of events that could save lives in Massachusetts. 

Alta Mae Rogers, 88, of Poultney, Vt., was just finished baking cookies in her apartment in a senior housing complex on July 23, when she began to feel dizzy. She leaned for support on the handle of her oven. The door dropped. Mrs. Rogers lost her balance and fell on top of the open door. The entire stove tipped over on top of her, trapping her chest, back, arms, face and upper legs between the burning oven and the searing door. 

Mrs. Rogers’ daughter, Jean Susan Rogers Sherman of Rutland, Vt., said her mother was trapped in the 375-degree oven, conscious, for more than an hour, until a man delivering her daily newspaper heard her cries for help. 

“He found her saying ‘911’ over and over. In the hospital, Mom said, ‘I’ve gotten myself into such a mess. I couldn’t get out,’ ” Ms. Sherman said. 

Mrs. Rogers was rushed by ambulance to Rutland Hospital with burns to her face, back, arms ear and chest. She lived for three weeks and survived more than eight hours of skin graft surgeries before succumbing to pneumonia, Ms. Sherman said. 

“We are aware of at least 12 other reported deaths involving tipped stoves in the past 10 years,” said Patty D. Davis, spokeswoman for the Consumer Product Safety Commission in Washington, D.C. 

In March 1995, a 3-year-old boy sat on an open oven door in his home; the stove tipped over and crushed him to death. Two years later, a 71-year-old man died when a stove tipped over while he was broiling food. Two toddlers were crushed to death by stoves that fell on them in 1997 and 1998, Ms. Davis said. 

In June 2000, a 78-year-old man died of septicemia after his face, neck and arms were doused with boiling hot water when a stove tipped over on him. In June 2001, a 23-month-old boy was crushed to death by a tipped stove when his mother fell asleep and he climbed on a stove door to reach a snack. 

In April 2003, a 46-year-old man tripped and fell, grabbing for the oven door to catch his fall. The stove fell on him, killing him. That May, a 78-year-old man was asphyxiated when a stove “fell forward and entrapped him,” Ms. Davis said. One month later, she said, an elderly woman in Alabama was “trapped, suffocated and burned” to death when an electric range tipped over onto her. Three other deaths involved small children trapped under tipped stoves since 2003. 

John P. Drengenberg, consumer affairs manager for Underwriters Laboratories, said, “Many other children and seniors survive, but may be terribly injured or burned. Tipped stoves is a lot bigger problem than the number of deaths shows.” 

He said Underwriters Laboratories runs two tests on electric stoves. Gas stoves are not tested by UL. First, a 75-pound weight is placed on an open oven door. 

“The door cannot break off and the stove cannot tip over for a stove to pass the normal test,” Mr. Drengenberg said. 

In the second test — or “abnormal test” — a 250-pound weight is placed on the open door. Mr. Drengenberg said most stoves do not pass that test. 

All manufacturers must include an anti-tipping bracket or clip with every stove that does not pass these UL tests. The brackets or clips can be attached to a beam behind the stove or to the flooring under the stove at the time of installation to prevent tipping. 

“Almost all electric stoves must have a clip,” Mr. Drengenberg said, while noting that “just because the manufacturer includes the clip, that does not mean the installer will use it.” 

“We cannot force installers to use the clips, we can only remind people to use common sense in all that they do. Using the clip to prevent tipping is common sense,” Mr. Drengenberg said. 

Ms. Sherman said she was shocked and saddened to learn that there was a quick and simple fix that would stop the agony and death. 

Her message was heard by Auburn resident Lorraine G. Nordgren, a member of the Council on Aging. She immediately contacted Patricia H. Bukoski, executive director of the Auburn Housing Authority. 

“I was horrified when I heard about Mrs. Rogers. I want to warn all of our residents. This could happen to anyone, but particularly our seniors, who might not be as steady on their feet,” Ms. Nordgren said. 

Ms. Bukoski took immediate action. 

“What happened to Mrs. Rogers was an absolute tragedy that should never happen again,” she said. “We have not had anything remotely like this happen, but it is better to be safe than sorry.” 

Last week, the maintenance staff at Stoneville Heights, a subsidized housing complex on North Oxford Street, tested methods to best anchor stoves at the housing authority complex. Ms. Bukoski said one method involved attaching a small chain to the back of the stove and to a U-bolt screwed into a wall stud. She pledged that all stoves not already anchored will be secured at both the Stoneville Heights and Pakachoag Village housing complexes as soon as possible. 

When state Sen. Richard T. Moore, D-Uxbridge, chairman of the Health Financing Committee, heard about Mrs. Rogers’ death, he said, “It is my hope that we can work to see that a similar tragedy does not occur here in Massachusetts.” 

He immediately contacted the Department of Housing and Community Development about oven safety. There, he learned that although ovens in elderly housing complexes must be “in a state of good repair and installed per the manufacturer’s specifications, they do not specifically require that ovens be bolted to the floor.” 

Sen. Moore said the Housing Department assured him that any resident concerned about safety could request that a stove be bolted down. 

June Lemire, executive director of the Southbridge Housing Authority said she had never heard of a stove tipping. She said the stoves in the Quinebaug Plaza housing complex are not anchored. 

“But they are in very snug. We have a hard time pulling them out, but I will check it out just to make sure. Even one accident like this is too much,” she said. 

Brendan P. Ryan, office manager at Vin’s TV & Appliance Co. of Shrewsbury, said an anti-tip bracket is included with most stoves. “We always ask if they want the bracket, and 99 percent of the time, it’s no. It’s a shame. It wouldn’t take much to attach a stove to prevent it from tipping. It’s just sheet metal,” Mr. Ryan said. He suggested that the work be done by a professional installer. 

Kitchenaid and Whirlpool offer two types of stove “Anti-Tip kits” for $7.20 and $17.26 on their Web sites. These kits allow stoves to be bolted or strapped to the floor or wall stud. 

Tracy L. Dresser, acting executive director of the Webster Housing Authority, said that when she heard about Mrs. Rogers’ accident, she talked to maintenance personnel and was shocked by what she found out. 

“The stoves in our Golden Heights I complex are all bracketed, but in Golden Heights II, they are not. We will immediately look into anchoring all our stoves,” she said. 

Ms. Sherman said Mrs. Rogers had five children, 13 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, who all miss her terribly. 

Though 88, Mrs. Rogers was still vital and happy, walking a mile a day, except in winter, when she was more likely to go cross-country skiing. She traveled to Ireland last year, and had her picture taken while she perched on a wind surfer on Lake St. Catherine in Poultney just two days before the fatal accident.

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