Electrical fire probability

Question

i have an outlet in my living room that is blown, i checked the breaker and its not tripped so i'm pretty certain that its completely fried. i dont have anything plugged into it, and i've called in a ticket with my maintenance people to come and get it fixed but i dont know how long its going to take. also just to note the building i live in was built in 1920. my question is, without anything plugged into it, how probable is an electrical fire? are there any precautions i should take until someone can come out and look at it?

Answer 1

an outlet in a soaking wet place due to water drip from a/c may cause electrical fire due to arcing. that outlet should have been removed and tape the end of the wires. its akay if the oulet is in dry location you can wait for another summer.

normally what an electrician (paid hourly) and what i would do to find out which breaker control the outlet is by short circuiting the outlet and see which breaker trip, but don't do it yourself, you are more ethical and care about damaging the breaker.

Answer 2

Probability is zero!

Answer 3

throw the breaker

Answer 4

VERY low probability of a problem.  Unless you know that another outlet is on the same circuit as the problem receptacle, it's tough without meters and some opening up of the box to determine the correct breaker.

Answer 5

Call your maintenance people back and tell them that the outlet didn't trip the breaker and that you THINK you smell smoke.

That should get them there in a hurry and it may keep you from having a fire.  At least you will be covered