Electrical Fire or Burning Smell? Signs and Causes

Updated 23/02/2024

1) What Causes Electrical Burning?

Electrical burning is caused by faults in the electrical system and incidents that have occurred outside the safe operating limits of the wiring system or connected equipment. Electrical burning is most commonly caused by:

• Faulty Appliances
• Overloaded Sockets and other Circuits
• Poor Wiring Installation
• Old wiring systems
• Electrical Faults

2) Faulty appliances

Faulty appliances are one of the major causes of electrical fires each year in the UK. When electrical appliances develop electrical faults, they can short out causing fire which can quickly spread to combustible surfaces such as kitchen units and surrounding materials. 

The cables of appliances should be regularly inspected to ensure that they are not trapped, damaged or otherwise showing signs of distress. When cables become damaged, they are not only a fire risk but also an electric shock risk. If a cable becomes trapped on the metal case of an appliance and the appliance happens to be badly earthed then the whole case of the appliance can become live!

The plug sockets of the appliances should be regularly checked along with the plug sockets in which they are inserted. If there are any signs of discolouration then have an electrician come and check both the plug top and the plug socket to see what is going on behind the scenes. 

3) Overloaded Sockets and other Circuits

Plug sockets in the UK are generally rated as having a maximum current capacity of 13 amps. This means that with two power hungry appliances, it is rather easy to overload your average double socket. This is especially true in the kitchen environment where many electrical appliances all require a lot of electrical current in order to function.

As a guide, a 3-Kilowatt Kettle demands around 13 Amps, a typical Washing Machine is around 10 Amps, a 4-slice toaster is around 9 Amps, Tumble dryers 10-12 Amps and Dishwasher 10 amps. 

We can see that just any two of these appliances run together is likely to overload a double socket quickly. In reality, two of these appliances are rarely used together AND for an extended period that is, except for wet wintery days where the washing machine and tumble dryer are both going!

As an emergency electrician we regularly see double sockets that have burnt out, small fires have occurred and cable damage has taken place from the use of BOTH a washer and dryer used in the same double socket. 

4) What about circuit overloading?

Along with overloading a plug socket, there is the possibility of overloading an electrical circuit too. This is common around Christmas time or other Holiday Periods where there are more people than usual in the property and there are lots of appliances used at the same time demanding power. 

Most Kitchens will be wired on a beefy electrical circuit that is capable of delivering the required electrical current for nearly all circumstances, however, in older wiring systems, this is often not the case. 

It is common to see older wiring installations have just ONE electrical circuit feeding every plug socket in the home and in these situations, it is more common to overload the electrical circuit. 

5) Poor Wiring Installation

When poor electrical installation work is carried out in contravention of BS7671 wiring regulations, it puts everyone in danger. When installing or extending electrical circuits it is not safe to simply connect wires up and see if it works, testing must be carried out and each stage of the work and the work should comply with the regulations. 

Specialist test equipment must be used in order to carry out the correct sequence of dead and live tests to ensure that the work is safe to energise and put into service.

Poor wiring can lead to electric shock, severe burns, and other electrical injuries. Only a licensed electrician should carry out work on wiring systems as so much can go wrong with electrical wiring. 

6) Old Wiring Systems

As cables and electrical accessories age, they degrade and become less efficient, poorer at conducting electricity and more likely to short out causing all sorts of problems. In some cases, old wiring systems can present a danger to persons using the system.

In particular, certain rubber cables installed several decades ago can crumble causing live wires to be exposed, short circuit situations can occur resulting in risk of electrocution, risk of an electrical fire and further faulty wiring developing. 

Aging electrical accessories like plug sockets, switches and pull cords can begin to develop high internal resistances through wear and tear. These high internal resistances cause high temperatures to build up on the circuit. This can easily lead to a burning odour and, if left, home fires can occur. 

There are not always visual signs to alert you to an aging wiring system so it’s important to have it checked out by a professional. A new consumer unit offers the best protection against nearly every electrical issue. 

7) Electrical Faults

Where there are electrical faults existing in a wiring system, this can lead to ELECTRICAL BURNING occurring. So many electrical issues remain hidden from the untrained eye that there can be many dangers lurking. 

Broken Ring Circuits, Missing Earths or Poor Earthing, Failed Electric Shock Protection Devices and much more. These issues will not necessarily be seen until they are tested for by a professional electrician. 

Where these faults exist, the consequences can be severe should an appliance develop a fault or something else occurs. 

One of the best ways to ensure that your electrical system is safe is to do some home checks to make sure that your appliances and electrical accessories look ok. Beyond these basic home checks its best to have your system tested and inspected thoroughly once it reaches 10 years old or more. It should then be tested every ten years. 

8) Common Questions and Answers

8.1) What do I do if I smell electrical burning?

An electrical fire smell is very fishy. It is incredibly pungent and once you notice it you will always recognise the smell should you come across it again. 

As the PVC on cables and plastics used in electrical accessories begin to melt and smoulder, they give off an incredibly strong chemical, fish type smell that lingers in the air.

If you believe that you can smell this odour then you should shut off your home electricity supply immediately. This is normally done at the main switch on the consumer unit or before the electrical equipment. It looks something like this:

If you have a persistent burning smell in your home then a proactive approach is vital, call an electrician immediately! If you can find where the smell is coming from then this is great, if not then don’t worry, there are tests that electricians can do to find potential issues on any circuits. Electricians can remove electrical accessories like switches, sockets and consumer unit covers to find the problem for you. 

Do not ignore an electrical burning smell!

The problem is likely to get more dangerous and more expensive to fix!

8.2) How long does it take an electrical fire start?

Electrical fires can start quickly. As soon as there are faulty appliances or sufficiently high temperatures cause by an overloaded circuit, an electrical arc, or some other faulty electrical work. House fires can then spread quickly with the typical soft furnishings, possessions and building materials that many homes contain. 

Older homes are sometimes more at risk as they will not be constructed to the most up to date safety wiring and fire regulations. They may also have older wiring systems which could be more likely to contain electrical hazards.

8.3) Can an electrical fire start in a wall?

Yes. An electrical fire can indeed start in a wall. This is especially true when the wall is of timber construction, contains air gaps and has some fuel for the fire to feed off. The photograph below shows the damage that can be done very quickly by faulty wiring, an old consumer unit and poor electrical junctions contained in the wall.

8.4) Can an electrical fire start if nothing is plugged in?

Yes. An electrical fire can start EVEN IF there is nothing plugged in. 

8.5) Will the circuit breaker trip before a fire starts?

Not necessarily. The more modern the fuse box or consumer unit the more likely it is that the problem will be detected and the electrical supply will disconnect. 

If the fuse box is ancient then there is a good chance that no fuses will blow, no switches will trip and the fire will just be allowed to carry on. 

9) Summary

Electrical burning can be caused by a number of issues such as poorly designed circuits, overloaded circuits, worn out cabling, loose connections, worn out accessories, poor installation, damage caused by DIY, rodents, water ingress and so on. 

An electrical burning smell is a warning that something is not right and this should not be left. It can cause a fire to start, people to become hurt, permanent damage to your home and its electrical system and more. The quicker this issue is dealt with the cheaper it is likely to be. 

If you need an Electrician in Lowton, an Electrician in Golborne or anywhere between Liverpool and Wigan then we can help you. We cover a large area and have both Male and Female electricians at your disposal. We are Qualified, Insured, Inspected Annually and have years of experience in solving electrical faults and making homes safer. We also undertake electrical works of all kinds should you require something else. 

We are friendly, approachable, and always available to help on the phone if you need us so don’t delay, call us today!