Actually, Mr. Melnikov and his wife, Lina, almost never cook in the oven, which was new when they moved into their apartment in Gravesend, Brooklyn, three years ago. Like many people who live with more stuff than space, they store kitchenware in it.

On the day it turned itself on, Mr. Melnikov recalled, his cellphone had rung in the kitchen. He talked for about 10 minutes. Then he smelled smoke. The oven was roaring. The thermometer was in flames.

Image Andrei Melnikov, in images from a video, shows how his smart phone can start his Maytag Magic Chef oven. Credit... Jim Dwyer

“Maybe the ringing cellphone turned it on,” Mr. Melnikov suggested to the two men.

They scoffed.

He laid the phone next to the stove. They dialed it. Suddenly, the electronic control on the stovetop beeped. The digital display changed from a clock to the word “high.” As the phone was ringing, the broiler was heating up.

Three other apartments in the building are fitted with the same make and model oven: Maytag Model CGR1425ADW. “My phone turned on all of them,” Mr. Melnikov reported. “One apartment had a General Electric. It didn’t work on that one.”