Need help asap!!! Potential danger and idk

[Propman86]

Okay today my renter said she trying to unplug something from this outlet and somehow pulled the faceplate off. So I go up to investigate and this is what I find (attached pictures). Any suggestions? I'm confused how this outlet could have arched to anything. Also it looks as though it had been arching continuously for a few seconds or minutes in order to heat the brass up enough to melt the plastic all around the plastic part of the outlet. The outlet was literally in two pieces when I got there, the face was hanging off and the brass and backing was in the wall. The house is an old cinder block house with seemingly metal conduit and boxes, but I was under the impression they would be non conductive (because why run wires through a conductive conduit, sounds dangerous). Box has two white and two black wires, only one black was hot. However whomever changed it before put the hot to the bottom nut marked "actif" (not sure if that matters, but pretty sure it does). So when I put in the new outlet, I put the hot black on the top nut marked hot lol. Then the other black to the bottom nut.

I'm dumbfounded as to what happened here and if this outlet is still dangerous, despite me changing the old outlet with a new one. Cant figure out if it was user error by the renter that caused it or too much amperage on the line to cause the arch. Idk.

 

[westward10]

I suggest as opposed to replacing it yourself you use an electrician so they can evaluate the situation for the safety of your tenant.

 

[Propman86]

I suggest as opposed to replacing it yourself you use an electrician so they can evaluate the situation for the safety of your tenant.

Sorry thought this was a DIY forum. Must have posted in the wrong place. Found out new details. Renter is lying about what happened. She said she just unplugged something and this happened, but when I went up there the face plate screws were pulled out of the wall. Also she said she never heard a pop (the sound of an arch) or smelt any burning (the burnt plastic), however the outlet worked fine until this happened, so wasn't preexisting, also that exact outlet was just changed last year, as an update for style. And she would certainly have heard the arch that fried that screw and definitely woulda smelt burning plastic. So the simplest answer is she is lying. But that's typical of renters.

 

[Megawatt]

Sorry thought this was a DIY forum. Must have posted in the wrong place. Found out new details. Renter is lying about what happened. She said she just unplugged something and this happened, but when I went up there the face plate screws were pulled out of the wall. Also she said she never heard a pop (the sound of an arch) or smelt any burning (the burnt plastic), however the outlet worked fine until this happened, so wasn't preexisting, also that exact outlet was just changed last year, as an update for style. And she would certainly have heard the arch that fried that screw and definitely woulda smelt burning plastic. So the simplest answer is she is lying. But that's typical of renters.

Renters are the worst and did she tell you what she had plugged in your outlet. It looks like either the screws wasn’t tight or she had a large load plugged in but you would think that it would trip the breaker if it was such a big load. Maybe a window Air Conditioning

 

[Propman86]

Renters are the worst and did she tell you what she had plugged in your outlet. It looks like either the screws wasn’t tight or she had a large load plugged in but you would think that it would trip the breaker if it was such a big load. Maybe a window Air Conditioning

She said it was her phone charger. I call bs on that. No way a phone charger would have enough weight to RIP the face plate off the wall. And I thought the same thing about a large load, but again like you said that should have tripped the breaker as soon as it grounded out through the arch. I'm thinking she just lied about what happened or perhaps something fishy up in the junction box in the ceiling. I was thinking the house is very old and the wiring is too, so perhaps a jacket is cracked somewhere in the attic, while laying across another hot with a cracked jacket and they are combining amperage? Maybe, seems far fetched, which was why I used occam's razor and simplest explanation is she is lying about the spark, the sound and the smell because she doesn't want to be liable for the repair.

Got any other ideas for how it could cause an arch like that? Maybe a power surge? Idk, I studied electrical theory but my degree didnt include any troubleshooting whatsoever