Electrical fires

[HoneySuckle]

Do you know what to do if there is an electrical fire, no matter how small?

I plugged in my electrical tea kettle (not even a year old), and started walking away to get something when I heard a buzzing and zapping sound followed by sparks.  I ran back to the kitchen to see a small fire starting and froze![:O]  All I could do was call out to my husband upstairs.  He was able to stop it by unplugging the kettle, but I could not move.

I'd like to know if I should call in the electrician still to check the outlet (just in case), or the fire department?

[RecycleMichael]

I recommend making sun tea next time.

Your problem sounds like a short in either the appliance or the outlet.

[cannon_fodder]

The odds greatly favor a problem with the tea kettle/maker.  You're outlet is wired to a fuse box that is designed to mitigate any potential problems from the outlet by "blowing" a fuse.  The tea device probably had no such safety measure - throw it away.

Being rather stupid, I would probably just plug something else into the outlet that I was willing to sacrifice and see if it works.  Odds are it will be fine. The safer and smarter thing to do would be to kill the circuit and check on the outlet... take the cover off and look at the wires to see if they appear charred or otherwise damaged.  Any evidence of charring means you REALLY need to replace that outlet.

The smartest thing to do would be to call an electrician to look it over.  He will probably scoff and tell you that your tea kettle is dead and then charge you $150.  But as far as safety goes, that's the best bet.

[sgrizzle]

When a wire burns, it is usually the whole section at once. Likely your charred the socket a bit and killed the appliance. Check your breaker/fuse box and plug something else in.

[Ed W]

Go out to the garage and locate the breaker for this circuit.  It should be labeled on the panel door.  Then go back to the kitchen and remove the front plate from the wall box.  If you see any charred wiring or evidence of heat or smoke, you'll probably want to replace the wall socket.  This is a fairly easy job as the connections are color-coded and there are only three of them - or just two on older ones.  

Toss the teapot.  It's toast.

You can get a simple circuit tester at any hardware store.  It looks like a 3 prong plug without wires, just some LEDs.  Simply plug it into the wall socket and note the lights.  It will tell you if voltage is reaching the socket as well as some other common faults, but be sure to turn the breaker back on first!  (Not that I've ever made that mistake, of course.)  But it won't tell you if any of the wiring is burnt, leaving exposed wires, so be sure to do a visual inspection too.

[HoneySuckle]

I called the electrician today and he will come by to check the outlet and make sure there was no damage.  I also called the fire department and they gave me lots of info on safety etc.

Just a FYI in case someone else might be interested.

[HoneySuckle]

quote:Originally posted by cannon_fodder

The odds greatly favor a problem with the tea kettle/maker.  You're outlet is wired to a fuse box that is designed to mitigate any potential problems from the outlet by "blowing" a fuse.  The tea device probably had no such safety measure - throw it away.

Being rather stupid, I would probably just plug something else into the outlet that I was willing to sacrifice and see if it works.  Odds are it will be fine. The safer and smarter thing to do would be to kill the circuit and check on the outlet... take the cover off and look at the wires to see if they appear charred or otherwise damaged.  Any evidence of charring means you REALLY need to replace that outlet.

The smartest thing to do would be to call an electrician to look it over.  He will probably scoff and tell you that your tea kettle is dead and then charge you $150.  But as far as safety goes, that's the best bet.

I called the tea kettle people (Procter Silex) today and reported the problem.  They immediately took all the information and would like me to send the kettle back at their expense and will be sending me a new one.  

I am leaning on the side of safey.  After what I saw last night and the potential for disaster if we hadn't been around, $150 is nothing to pay out!

[HoneySuckle]

quote:Originally posted by HoneySuckle

I called the electrician today and he will come by to check the outlet and make sure there was no damage.  I also called the fire department and they gave me lots of info on safety etc.

Just a FYI in case someone else might be interested.

By the way, thanks for all the reponses and advice.  I really appreciate it.