Also, where there's current-flow, any contact resistance generates HEAT. A
loose plug or socket can be frying inside a wall outlet or outlet strip,
even with moderate current flow. If for example, no one were home to see
or
smell it, or if a person with disabilities could not correct the
situation,
one could return home to a charred pile of rubble.


My grandmothers house nearly burned down a few years ago from this. The
circuit was not overloaded, but the refrigerator was on the end of a run and
an outlet in the middle devloped a loose connection. The load of the fridge
and the resistance of that outlet caused it to heat up and melt. The
contacts inside the outlet were glowing red when she noticed the coffee
grinder plug fall out of the melting outlet and ran to shut off the breaker.
Replacing the receptacle and trimming back the oxidized wires fixed the
problem.