I had a service call to check why some lights were not working. After a few routine checks I ended up in the attic. Boy was I surprised.

The wire you see and the insulation was pulled out of the attic. The man that use to live here done some DIY work. The best I remember, he had oversized the breaker on this piece of 14/3 romex. You can't see it clearly, but the romex had melted together for about 10 feet or so. It had already scorched the insulation bad and smoked part of the rafter just before it went down into the wall. Of course I pulled new wire and fused it correctly.

I showed the homeowner, which was the son of who I think done this. Very amazing that it was that close to being a terrible fire. Why the breaker didn't trip before this happened, I don't know, unless it had a bad breaker... etc.. Just thought I'd share it as a trophy for Do it Yourselfers:)

Also attached is the electrical panel that this wire came out of. It was a total mess also as you can see. Some people need to know their limitations:)

sparkync (Steve)