On Mon, 31 Dec 2007 07:38:57 -0800 (PST), Mark_Galeck
wrote:

Hello, I was wiring something and I messed up, as soon as I turned
the heater circuit breaker (to the thing I was wiring) on, there was a
loud bang, smoke and the breaker jumped back to OFF position, that
means, it worked properly, although the part I was wiring, got
damaged. I then disconnected the damaged part.
However, now the circuit breaker appears to "short", that is, even in
the OFF position, some other wires that it controls, are hot!

Can a tripped circuit breaker, get shorted that way in the process, so
that it cannot be turned OFF, and so I should replace the circuit
breaker? Or is something else wrong?

Thank you for any insight, Mark

Remove the wires from that breaker, put a tester on it and if there is
still voltage, replace the breaker. You could be getting voltage from
some other crossed circuit. Breakers DO go bad and anything can cause
it.