Oven Troubles

Preheating the oven one morning to make biscuits, I heard this weird sound.  I was standing right in front of my oven at the time, so I got treated to not only a strange "zzzzzt" sound but also the sight of sparks through my oven door and a bright light that looked a lot like flames.  I turned off the oven, but by then the oven seemed to be smoking.  Husband pulled out the oven drawer to see what was going on and we unplugged it, but it wasn't until later that day that the oven was cool enough to look inside.  What we saw you can see on the right.

That would be the broiler element of my oven.  The exposed tungsten wire, complete with melted ceramic and steel, should be the major clue to where the sparks and fire came from.  Standing theory seems to be that somehow grease got on the top element--the broiler element--and then overheated on the element, causing the outside to melt and expose the wire.

The part is ordered, thanks to a very helpful schematic online, but probably won't be here until next week.  As of now the oven is still unplugged--which I think is the safest course of action--so the oven and stove-top are out of commission.  Luckily I have a number of fine plug-in appliances that can help fill this void, but expect some creative recipes for at least a few days.