Friction. That's why it was hot. It's simple physics. I go through screws by the hundreds in my line of work. One thing we always do is drill a pilot hole before putting in a screw. Wax or soap on the threads helps them go in easier too. Believe me, if you had hit wires, you'd know it. It's quite spectacular and yes, I know from experience.

Do you mean the drillbit? You possibly drilled into a stud frame in the wall -you should have noticed drilling took more than a few seconds!

It's nothing to do with electricity. I've drilled into brick and had to let the drillbit rest many times after getting literally red hot when putting up a TV stand over a fireplace!

Probably not. If you drilled directly in to a stud, chances are the heat is a result of the friction the screw generated from going in to the wood.

That's where my fire drill went....

agreed-friction my son-lol

I used the Stanley stud finder that is supposed to find wires before you drill into the wall. The finder didn't pick up anything where I drilled. But once I drilled into the wall I removed the screw to use a different one and the screw was hot. Nothing sparked, the breaker didn't short or anything like that. I then noticed that (like an idiot) I was drilling close to directly above an outlet. But the outlet does still work. I'm just wondering what the hot screw was a result of because I don't think I drilled into a wire.. or did I?