I hate a "ground up/down" thread as much as the next guy...

[charlie b]

I see two blasts on the tape that indicate it was a line to line event not a line to ground event. That being the case the GFCI would be blind to it entirely. As for the breaker I would say chances are high that the breaker stayed closed as the tape blew out (opened) first.

I agree with you on both points. That might be a record for us. :happyyes:

 

[George Stolz]

It tripped the Siemens breaker in the panel above the receptacle in question. I walked in to find my cohort standing in the dark with a big grin on his face, despite his ruined tape measure. The GFCI did not trip, as Bob suspected.

 

[G0049]

Looking at the pics....

Did the tape measure (which was upside down ) manage it's way between the two plugs? That's what the smoke pattern looks like.

Just curious.

You must be right handed. That tape is not upside down to a lefty, the numbers on our tapes are upside down.

 

[kwired]

You must be right handed. That tape is not upside down to a lefty, the numbers on our tapes are upside down.

Maybe. I find that which direction you run the tape has more to do with what is being measured than whether or not you are right or left handed.

You typically want the end of the tape to be at an inside corner instead of trying to read a measurement at an inside corner if possible.