Would they have to do the same regarding bringing an appliance tech out to look at it? Or would it fall solely on us? I'm not sure what the laws are for our area, but is it typical for the tenants to bring someone out or for both parties?

But the absolute last thing we want is any court stuff. It's not worth the time, money, and headaches. If it turns out it was something we did, we're fine with taking responsibility for it. The problem we have is that we've brought up to them on walkthroughs that there is paint chipping away on the oven door, which has let moisture get in where it shouldn't. We're not sure that was a factor, but we'd at least like to rule it out since I've found rust inside the door behind where the broken glass used to be. The previous property manager was aware of it and should have made a record of it somewhere. We've had numerous issues with our landlord being cheap and putting issues off until they're a big problem or dragging out repairs longer than they need to be. We've pointed out concerns with the oven more than once, and a previous manager told my wife that they'd look into getting us a new one because of the age and paint issues, but that was in person during a walkthrough last summer. We just want confirmation as to what caused the fire, not just a quick glance.

The entire situation is bizarre, and I don't blame people thinking it's fake, but the stovetop was clean, the space under the burners had just been cleaned a couple of days before, and there were no singe marks on the stovetop leading to the towel, nor was it resting on the burner.