"the fire occurred at the electrical panel...."

 

On our tours throughout the globe we have observed countless numbers of electrical boxes that are not secured. Most commonly they are not secure because workers open them and fail to properly secure them. Here is a recent incident that we wonder if the electrical box was secure.

 

This morning, around 01.00, the Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (location omitted) was alerted, by calling EMS, about the occurrence of an emergency situation at an economic operator located in the area of (location omitted), according to local news media. From the first information, a fire with aluminum leaks was announced at a smelting equipment inside the objective.

 

Forces and means from the local Fire Department were urgently deployed to the scene, and the Voluntary Service for Emergency Situations of (location omitted) commune also intervened. Given the announced situation, the task force at the level of the inspectorate was activated to ensure the decision-making support of the intervention commander.

In this regard, the First Deputy Chief Inspector together with the head of the task force went to the scene of the event. Arriving at the scene, the intervention forces found that the fire occurred at the electrical panel of the smelting equipment, and it no longer presented a danger of expansion, being promptly liquidated by the employees of the economic operator and there were no leaks of molten aluminum.

 

Fortunately, there were no casualties or significant material damage. By adopting the appropriate behavior and knowing how to act in the event of an emergency situation, the economic operator's staff limited the risk of a large fire in time.

 

The hidden hazard of not properly securing electrical boxes is commonplace. Workers and companies fail to acknowledge that this poor practice allows aluminium fines in the air to enter the electrical boxes. Aluminium fines have the potential to cause all sorts of problems. From grounding, short-circuiting and potentially be a conduit for a arc flash.

Though it is not known what caused this fire. Thankfully no one was injured. We assume the plant was down for a period of time before the box and the numerous wires could be fixed.

 

The Light Metal Age magazine wrote an article on this hidden hazard. It can be found here.

 

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