wow that makes me glad I got my iron at the thrift store! It's a 70's model GE and works just fine for me
I also unplug it when not using it. If I forget to unplug sometimes I also forget to turn it off and it has been on all night before! Ahhhhhh lucky nothing like this happened. I'm so sorry this happened to you! I wonder if you can get a cheepo at the thrift store to replace it. Mine was 99 cents