Could I have stopped the fire from starting?

[Rockingit]

I got a call back in the summer to do a PIR at a pub that was changing hands, as the sellers had been forced to use the Brewery's 'big firm' for gas & elec servicing, and they weren't happy with some of the gas stuff that had gone on so therefore didn't have much faith in the electrics either and wanted a 2nd opinion.

For reasons I now can't remember, they changed their minds (still paid me for the booking, at their insistance) and didn't need my report so I never go to do it.

What appeared in last weeks local rag? An article about how the place had nearly burnt to the ground a couple of weeks ago from an electrical fault!!!

So the questions have to be: 1) How come the 'big contractor' messed up so much, and 2) would I have spotted the fault??

 

[Engineer54]

Could have been an insurance fraud, strange how they changed there mind so suddenly!!!
It does happen, i'm told.... lol!!

Now the insurance will pay for a complete refurbishment of the gaff, that in all probably, it needed in the first place ...lol

 

[ruston]

I'ts really hard to say, what was the fault that caused the fire? My experience of old pubs it's a wonder not more of them go up. And being a bit cynical loads of pubs are going to the wall every day.

 

[dingledong]

rockingit reading your posts on here i have every confidence that you would have found that fault in moments sir

 

[PC Electrics]

Do you have any idea what sort of fault caused the fire?

it is my opinion that many of the "big firms" keep their costs down by employing people with little real experience and quals. This is true across all sorts of industries. It's got summat to do with peanuts and monkeys. Anyway up, this often leads to lacklustre, or even poor, quality work.

 

[mogga]

it all depends on what limitations were placed on the tester
working at height over 2.5mtr disturbance to trade no OOH work
also depends how accomodationg the landlord is to turning power off to certain circuits and how much is known about how,where things are wired in the pub bear in mind loads of pubs have and will continue to have work done by the guy in the corner who sticks new circuits in ect for a beer n dinner

 

[trev]

rockingit reading your posts on here i have every confidence that you would have found that fault in moments sir

My thought exactly

 

[dingledong]

i did work in a bed shop and 2 days later drove past and it was bunt out absolutelt pooped myself . drove to the fire station explaied that i had worked there and what had happened .... it made there day they wound me up rotten . in the end sone kids had chucked a burning box of matches under a bed
phew

 

[SPARTYKUS]

Christmas tree lights I reckon!!!

 

[Rockingit]

I'm flattered by the comments chaps, thank you.

Two interesting things to add: The other contractor had actually been looking after the place since a previous fire and a re-build, so one would assume no particular hassles in testing, the place has been shut. And, this incident is with the brand new owners so I can't think of a reason for a fraud.

Just leaves shoddy workmanship on the part of [un-named] contractor as the most likely culprit. I'm toying with giving the new owners a call and telling them the history.

 

[RogertheBodger]

I'm not happy to say this, and I have the utmost respect for the Emergency Services, including the fire service. Finding the cause of a fire after the event can't be easy, but it's essential to try in order to prevent future events and they do their best with whats left, after the fire, in order to establish exactly went wrong.

BUT............. I wonder sometimes that if they can't find the cause of the fire, and they can't say 'we don't know what caused it' they write "Electrical fault" as a 'covers everything including your A...' term in their reports.

Just hate to see Sparkies feeling guilty or responsible when the cause of a fire is not their fault at all.

 

[Knobhead]

Don’t knock yourself out about it. You didn’t test, BUT even if you had you are only responsible to the end of any test.

You have no recourse with an accident with your car / van even if it passed it’s MOT the day before!

Sleep easy kid!

I had a workshop burn down, how the hell was I to know the Muppets would hang overalls covered in paraffin over a heater.

 

[Rockingit]

Don't worry Tony - NOTHING stops me from my sleep!!!! Agreed, it's an easy cause to write down in the absence of anything more concrete. I feel no sense of blame in it at all, and it just highlights the need for thorough and regular testing, like we all know.

I think the irony for me is simply the fact that they never got my (or anyone's) 2nd opinion, and they clearly thought, and did, need to have one.

 

[mechelec]

It could have just been a dodgy appliance. It doesnt matter how thorough you are inspecting and testing if someone plugs in a faulty appliance you will still get a fire.

 

[Rockingit]

I've only read about it in the local paper, so it's probably full of inaccuracies to start with, but apparently the would-be fire started in their freezer/fridge store room. So it might have been dedicated circuits not RCD'd as well.

 

[ian.settle1]

It will come down in the end to the fact that the purchasers of the place must have been happy with the PIR report or they would not have bought it in the first place, so if it has burnt down it was either something that was falsified in the PIR, Xmas tree lights as said or some other source of ignition eg compressor over heating due to materials placed around it etc

 

[dingledong]

rodger i replaced lights in a storage area which had had a fire. the isurance fire man was in there for 2 days trying to find the cause and on the 2nd day a chief fire inspector turned up. i was amazed at how good they were and cause of my very good personality they let me join in the causes of a fire well blow me down i was wrong every time . ,but they did give me good scenario's and did not put it down to electrical every time

 

[in2media]

hiya rockingit, im new here but thought id have my say, im a gas engineer by trade and ive worked with some older generation engineers who dont test for gas tightness before they start their work. now having said that i was taught by an old boy who has his own company to test before and after, if in doubt test again. when the old boy and me worked for the same company (before he set himself up) we heard of engineers being prosecuted for gas leaks, explosions and all sorts of stupid mistakes.

the fire isnt yore fault or anything else, even if you had tested and it went up in smoke. dont eat yaself up mate