I plug my iron into an extension lead, and regularily I pull the plug of the iron out without turning off  the plug of the extension lead at the socket.
Following still LOL :)
On Sunday I did just this, and there was a flash the size of a small footbal, a Bang and it killed the flick switch for the sockets!!!!
I have checked both plugs and there is no loose wires or anything.
Can anyone suggest anything else, or was it just something that can happen if you dont turn off the plug??
Also, did rubber soled slippers save me???
Lea :)

That sounds like a dead short but I can't think why or how it would have happened. Sometimes if you do not unwind all the cable in the extension it will get hot and could catch fire or melt the insulation on the cable however that is not what you are saying and I don't know why what happened, happened. In future I would turn off from the switch first and I don't think your shoes saved you as I don't think you were physically involved. Do check the fuse in the plugs are of a rating advised by the iron manufacture, and the fuse box is also correct and not mended with a nail !!!!!!!!

Edited to say unwind the cable on the extension and check that it looks sound and there are no places that look worn or damaged, you would need the live to come into contact with either the negative of the earth for this sort of thing to happen and a damaged cable could cause this.

Reminds me of the time I lived in The Shetland Isles. Every time I tried to use my iron it tripped the switches ;-) Good excuse not to do any ironing for a year :-)

For a bang like that to happen there would have to be a fault somewhere. It could have been the wiring in the plug that was a bit loose and made a connection, or it could have been the wire itself. I'd get a new extension cable, and check the wiring on your iron. Actually, I'd probably get a new iron as well, just to be safe, but then my dad and first husband were electricians and I am terrified of things going wrong thanks to there stories :-D I'm sure they told these stories to scare me ;-)

The fuse and trip switch will have saved you, but the rubber soles wouldn't have done any harm.