Nobody ever responded (sigh) but we figured out what I was asking about - the metal piece over the doors pulled out but we didn't know why. When we took off the top of the oven to check the on/off bulb (it was a vintage Christmas bulb with the blue paint scratched off at the tip) we saw the metal piece was disconnected from joints that allowed it to bump out over the doors when they opened and this prevented heat and smoke from hurting the upper cabinet.