Re: electrical deaths

Joe Gwinn <joegwinn@comcast.net> wrote:

[...]

And I bet that Europe also has its heart-stopping stories.

I worked in a relatively modern building that had been wired to a good
standard and checked regularly.  One Monday morning someone ran into my
workshop and said the fluorescent light fitting in their room had just
exploded.  I investigated and found a black blast mark across the
ceiling and the remains of a vapourised wire in the fitting.  Wire of
that size would have taken well over 100 amps to vapourise it, so
obviously something had gone seriously wrong.

I switched off the entire supply to that wing of the building and rang
the electrician to come and investigate what had happened.   He arrived,
screamed abuse at me and switched on again without even listening to
what I told him.

Some time later I heard from his 'mate' that over the weekend he had
taken out the neutral-earth links in the sub-station to allow some tests
to take place.  He had forgotten to replace them and the whole neutral
current of the building was flowing through the neutral wire of that
fitting where it had become pinched against the earthed metal conduit.


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~ Liz Tuddenham ~
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