Temporary Power Strip?

Ok, I almost died yesterday. Well, not really, but my house could have burnt down to the ground.

It started benignly enough. I came home from the Cafe to a horrible burning plastic smell. At first I assumed that it must be coming from the downstairs neighbour's. You see, when they smoke cigarettes, the stench seeps into my apt by way of the heating vents. So, naturally I thought they were burning plastic or making Meth (not entirely out of the question had you laid eyes on this motley crew). Verily I tell you I could not for the life of me pinpoint that damn smell. It was driving me nuts.

So, I go to bed and find that the smell is actually stronger in my bed room. I get up for one more game of "find the smell" when the lights go out in my bedroom. Odd, I thought as I wander over to the room light switch to see if this power outage was caused by the circuit breaker. It was not, as the light turned on with out a hitch. Let me check the power strip that all these electronics are attached to. This is what I find...

Needless to say, I was freaked out. Not only was it melted and almost about to burst into flame, but a small part of my bed sheet was melted to it. I unplugged it post haste and found that it was quite malleable in my hands. I could have bent it into a U shape.

I know not how or why this freaking thing failed, but I do know that upon reading the back of the blasted thing I found the words "Temporary Power Tap." Temporary! What the Hell! I could have been burnt alive while I slept! I have been using that accursed thing for years...and now I see that it is only temporary. Check your power strips people!