consumer unit fires.

[Deleted member 26818]

I am probably the only member who has actually witnessed a plastic CU fire.
I have seen the clouds of blinding noxious smoke that is produced.
From the LFB’s point of view, the cause of a CU fire is immaterial. It’s the result of such a fire that is their concern.
You can blame Part P, you can blame dodgy materials, you can blame poor workmanship.
At the end of the day, if CUs are not made from a material that burns like a house on fire, the problem is solved.
Once all CUs are metal, we can concentrate on swapping all the old flammable cast iron heads for plastic.

 

[Deleted member 26818]

Here are a couple of items relating to house fires caused by DNO equipment.
http://fy68w4dd72j1r1z33vbuky14-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/smith_-v-_edf.pdf
https://www.esfrs.org/EasysiteWeb/getresource.axd?AssetID=754&type=Full&servicetype=Attachment

 

[Squid]

How many CU's in the UK and only 253 fires I bet the % rate is even lower if you take the cannabis farms out of the equation.

 

[South Spark]

That's what I was getting at. Was there an increase in the number of CUs installed, perhaps due to an increased number of property renovation or awareness of the need for RCD protection.

 

[stevels4]

Never had loose connections in the Wylex boards with 2, yes 2 screws on the incoming tails................ yet all the flimsy boards are rubbish....

Also by coincidence both the cut out and meter also have 2 screw terminals, it's the CUs that often only have a single screw for connection of the load tails.

 

[vjsmarwick]

In my view there really wasn’t anything wrong with the regulations before part P was introduced I don’t think there is that much wrong with 99% of the equipment we fit ! But what I do think is making a big difference is the amount of foreign workers here now that still carry out work the way they did in their home country and people being rushed through short courses and worst of all people rushing their work to try and cram in that extra job for an extra £ and not taking their time to do it right !
At the end of the day the reason for all this happening is down to our government running our country down for UK residents and allowing people to come here to work without first checking they have the qualifications to do so ! While if a company doesn’t give a job to a percentage of immigrants you are accused of racial discrimination! I am not saying we don’t have our own cowboys here or that all immigrants are cowboys but I am positive it has an impact ! I mean have you seen some of the wiring abroad ?

 

[SparkyChick]

It could also be a case of lingering faults that haven't manifested their true destructive potential.

I was finishing at the house that tried to kill me today (as a side note, turns out I didn't need to go in the loft I fell out of as I fixed the lighting fault I was investigating from a ceiling rose which has been wired totally wrong, bloomin' typical right ).

When I conducted my Ze test (issuing an EIC for the rewire of the ring final circuit), the test probe moved the screw securing the conductor of the line meter tail in the main isolator. Got many turns on it before it was nice and tight.

So just by sheer luck it hadn't caused a problem. Who knows how much longer it would have been before that luck ran out.

 

[Deleted member 26818]

One of the problems with foreign workers doing work to their country’s codes or regulations, is if they are from an EU country, their work will comply with Part P.

 

[vjsmarwick]

One of the problems with foreign workers doing work to their country’s codes or regulations, is if they are from an EU country, their work will comply with Part P.

I think you may want to change that to should comply to part P I was at a job recently where they had been adding insulation to a house as a result they has stepped the wall out 6 inches their spark had connected the ring behind the wall in 15A strip connectors and wrapped them with tape adding two short lengths of 2.5 to extend the ring in to the back boxes ! This was done to 6 double sockets along two outside walls which were stripped back to the stone before being clad again ! Why didn’t they renew the cables at this point ! Answer because it would have taken longer and they only get paid so much per job and this was being carried out as part of a government scheme ! So I stand by my words !!

 

[Porky pig]

In 2012 the DCLG Introduced a new recording system for fire services called the IRS, this was a more detailed version of previous recording with many drop down menu's, including 'Electrical supply' so this has undoubtedly caused a sharp increase in the figures.

 

[Deleted member 26818]

I think you may want to change that to should comply to part P I was at a job recently where they had been adding insulation to a house as a result they has stepped the wall out 6 inches their spark had connected the ring behind the wall in 15A strip connectors and wrapped them with tape adding two short lengths of 2.5 to extend the ring in to the back boxes ! This was done to 6 double sockets along two outside walls which were stripped back to the stone before being clad again ! Why didn’t they renew the cables at this point ! Answer because it would have taken longer and they only get paid so much per job and this was being carried out as part of a government scheme ! So I stand by my words !!

Well, if their country’s code or regulations allow for what you describe, then legally it will comply with Part P.

 

[SparkyChick]

Well, if their country’s code or regulations allow for what you describe, then legally it will comply with Part P.

I was going to ask how... but I've just read the section where it states 'or an equivalent standard approved by a member of the EEA'.

Unbelievable!

 

[Mike Johnson]

In 2012 the DCLG Introduced a new recording system for fire services called the IRS, this was a more detailed version of previous recording with many drop down menu's, including 'Electrical supply' so this has undoubtedly caused a sharp increase in the figures.

That seems to answer the sharp increase in the statistic for 2012 onwards.

 

[vjsmarwick]

Well, if their country’s code or regulations allow for what you describe, then legally it will comply with Part P.

I wasn’t aware of that fact so I thank you.
But like sparkychick I find it unbelievable.
That basically means anyone checking work done here would need to know the rules in every EU country , where as I understood the EU brought everyone under the same rules regardless of which EU country you come from !
But that does explain the amusement on the face of a German friend I have when he visits and sees the palava we have with health and safety here compared to Germany !

 

[static zap]

That seems to answer the sharp increase in the statistic for 2012 onwards.

Would be interesting to compare, events with weather chart ....
-- Any match with cold winters ? --

 

[UNG]

The LFB fire stats are IMO an anomally look at the stats for every other fire brigade in the country over the same period and a totally different picture emerges while the LFB stats showed a massive increase the rest of the country's brigades figures remained fairly constant and in some cases showed a slight reduction

 

[Strima]

The LFB fire stats are IMO an anomally look at the stats for every other fire brigade in the country over the same period and a totally different picture emerges while the LFB stats showed a massive increase the rest of the country's brigades figures remained fairly constant and in some cases showed a slight reduction

But London is the be all and end all of the UK...

 

[Deleted member 26818]

But London is the be all and end all of the UK...

Yes but I am very modest.

 

[static zap]

But London is the be all and end all of the UK...

Nothing like "Raising the barrier" ... !

 

[Percyprod]

Slightly off subject, but the article on cut-out fires interested me. How many people, qualified or otherwise apply for load approval from their dno if they intend installing extra load, such as a shower or storage heaters? In this area there are still quite a few metal clad cut-out with 30amp rewireable fuses. When we get a no supply on one of these, first question is "who was in the shower"? Even on a cut out with cartridge fuses, they will take quite an overload for some time, getting rather hot, and eventually failing. It's a regular thing to find the fuse welded in because it's been so hot. Main problem with cu's is as others have said, only one terminal screw and they need checking, and checking again, especially if the tails have been moved. I always did so if meter tails had been moved and 9 times out of 10 they needed tightening.

 

[Percyprod]

Once went to a house, new tennant had moved in, had shower installed and first time it was used supply went off. However, supply came back on when shower switched off. The outgoing live terminal in the meter was totally undone, had obviously been like that since meter was installed, as it still had lead seals fitted, which were secure, but we hadn't used them for at least 15 years. Previous tennant only used lights, tv fridge etc, gas cooker, no washer even!

 

[charlaz angel]

hey Strima.

I work for a DNO and can confirm lots of loose connections after smart meters are fitted.

 

[elsparko]

arent the smart meter fitters barely qualified? i got offered to do such a job , would be better off stacking shelves!

 

[elsparko]

regarding electricial appliances, arent they basically regulated by the manufacturer? they plaster stickers on them and its good to go

 

[Strima]

So finally: http://professional-electrician.com/features/napit-faulty-smart-meter-installations/