The interior of the control panel of our 8 year old Maytag dishwasher after it caught fire July 14, 2007.
Fortunately, we were home, smelled smoke, and put it out with a fire extinguisher before it did
any damage to the rest of the house. The fire department came quickly and removed it from the kitchen.
The problem was a manufacturing defect for which there had been a recall in February 2007.
We received the notice in August, a month after the fire. The Maytag folks (now owned by Whirlpool)
behaved responsibly and gave us a new dishwasher. My advice: Check the website of your dishwasher's
manufacturer to see if your machine has been recalled. The problem with this one was rinse agent
leaking into the door and eating through nearby electrical connections.