Rochester, Washington, looking west from the center of down-town. Rochester, Washington, looking east from the center of down-town. NOTE: This website is undergoing many changes - its size has gotten way too large to easily manage. If you encounter a link that no longer works it may be that I have accidentally removed the page/picture the link points to.
Without seeing the extent of the damage, it's impossible to say if the damage might cause a short/start a fire, or pose a shock hazard, or both; you could be seriously injured or killed. There are suggestions to tape the wire with electrical tape. This can be done, but be extremely careful.
If a homeowner is hammering a nail through a wall, and the nail comes into contact with two wires, it can establish a connection. The same thing happens when the coating is stripped from wires that can come into contact. Short circuits can also occur in batteries. If the positive and negative terminals are connected by a wire, a surge of electrical current can generate sufficient heat to cause an explosion. To prevent short circuits in homes, electricians install fault protection devices, such as circuit breakers and fuses, that shut down the electrical current when the system detects a surge.