Cody Brown still can't believe what happened.

"When I got to about right here, I could see the flames," said Brown.

The 17-year-old says he was about to start some chores at his grandparents' Idaho ranch when he noticed a hair dryer in the bathroom was on fire.

"And the whole side right (here) was in flames. The first thought that came to my head was 'Put it out.' I was just scared," said Brown.

Ann Allen says she was pretty scared, too, when a hair dryer in her bathroom caught fire.

"He said above that fire line it was probably 1,500 degrees. Everything was totally black in the house. I think I immediately went into shock," said Allen.

In both cases, the hair dryers were plugged in with the switch in the "off" position.

Clarissa Brown is owner of the dryer that caught fire in Idaho.

"I didn't leave it running, I knew I didn't leave it running," said Brown.

But KIRO 7 Consumer Investigators have learned these are not isolated incidents.

Through government reports and interviews with fire investigators across the country, we have confirmed 31 other fires all linked to slide switches.

MORE ON THIS STORYNASD: Electrical Safety in the HomeUnderwriters Laboratories Inc.FirstGov for Consumers

George Hodge is a forensic investigator in Denver, Colo., who has worked on nine of these slide switch fires.

"The switch by itself is OK, and the hair dryer by itself is OK. It's the combination of the two together that's the problem," said Hodge.

He says the problem is the switch design.

In order for a slide switch to operate properly, tiny metal points have to make perfect electrical contact when the switch is turned on. If that doesn't happen…

"You only have a partial contact to start. Now you've got too much current being drawn through that itty bitty little connection down there, and the connection can't handle it, it's arcing," said Hodge.

When arcing occurs, it creates heat and produces carbon. Eventually, so much carbon builds up in the switch that it can be ignited by a small amount of current, even when the dryer is switched "off" but plugged in.

"The carbon in this position now becomes a heating element, will heat and eventually lead into ignition. These need to be gotten off the market without a doubt," said Hodge.

But getting them off the market will be difficult. Government reports and private investigators confirm fires in at least 9 different brands of hair dryers.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission will not comment on whether it is investigating.

However, just this past summer Underwriters Laboratory, the product testing organization, issued new safety standards for slide switches. The new rules require manufacturers to improve insulation and make the switches out of less flammable materials.

U.L. says it may take several years for the new, improved switches to appear in products.

However, the new standard does not address what to do about the millions of dryers out there that could pose a fire risk.

In the meantime, the best way to protect yourself is to unplug your hair dryer after every use. That's what the manufacturers suggest anyway, but it's imperative if your dryer has a slide switch.

We have sent our data to both the CPSC and UL. They say they are studying it. We'll keep on top of this story and let you know if any official warnings are issued.