Can a electrical outlets be overloading?

Answer 1

All electrical outlets should be protected from current overloads by circuit breakers and/or fuses on the main power supply panel. Such a panel must always be fitted where the main power cables come into the building. If there were no fuses or breakers all the wires behind the outlet would burn too - this could start a fire and burn the building down. So, the simple answer to this question is "No" because if too much current was taken from a socket outlet it should not be possible for a fire to start in the socket outlet itself. HOWEVER, if ever a serious electrical fault occurred in an appliance plugged into the socket outlet, there is always the risk that a fire might start in the appliance itself - or in the plug or flexible cord feeding it. This kind of thing can happen either because an appliance became too old and worn-out (like a frayed flex) or because of an accident. (Someone catches a flex with their foot and the clothes iron ends-up on the floor and gets damaged.)

When this happens, any small amount of extra current taken is often not enough to cause the circuit breakers and/or fuses on the main power supply panel to trip or blow to cut the current off. For that reason, all the time any electrical appliance is in use, it is essential to be alert for any strange smells or noises, smoke or flames! If anything like that happens IMMEDIATELY switch off the appliance and unplug it from the socket outlet to avoid a fire.