I couldn't answer the question there because of reputation thing. (just signed up) Here is a little bit different approach; If you are in the room and smelled

I couldn't answer the question there because of reputation thing. (just signed up) Here is a little bit different approach; If you are in the room and smelled the burn, that means something is already happened and you are dealing with its result and possible side effects, and that gives you possibly enough time before shutting down everything or getting out of the room. Your chance of not being harmed by this situation is high at least for 5-10 minutes. In this case, having a termal check would not help you a lot since burned hardware is most probably not functioning anymore and might be colder than the regular servers. The other option would be that it is still working but not causing any fire yet so heat is not much different than the usual. Now, smell is your only evidence, I am hoping you guys have air conditioner in the server room. Put it on the max level so that the smell will not be so strong everywhere. This can help you identify where the smell is coming from. Before you check the smell, get out of the server room, breath as much as fresh air you can, so that your realisation will be sharper when you get back to server room. Having your colleague with makes the process faster. This would be my first reaction to these kind of situations. It is of course costly to turn off whole system but don't forget that it is not important than you!