"Tim Watts" wrote in message
...
On 23/06/17 19:21, ss wrote:
Not being electrically savvy but should the `trip` switch on the mains
meter not have clicked in and cut the current off to prevent a fir
starting.

What trip switch?

The over-current or earth leakage trip-switches in the "fuse box". Or in
extreme case the 60 A "company fuse" (which i think is always still an
old-fashioned melting-metal fuse). But I think you *did* know that.

The difficulty is when the short is not to earth and is a lower-than-normal
resistance but not a complete short, so you draw a larger current (or a
current through the wrong material, allowing it to heat up) but not a
current that is large enough to blow/trip the cutout.