Fire incident

HVS · 2023-06-11T16:20:55+00:00

(Having a bit of a mutter here...)There was a fire a couple of weeks ago down the road from us which destroyed the roof and top floors of a 3-storey block of flats and (I assume) waterlogged the lower two floors, displacing the tenants of 24 flats (no injuries). The flats were built about 20 years ago, but that's not relevant to what's got me muttering under my breath about the situation.The immediate post-fire communication from the Fire&Rescue service was tight-lipped in terms of the cause -- understandably, as there's liability to consider -- but inevitably led to uninformed speculation.After a few days, the first official word from the F&R service was that they were confident it wasn't arson, followed some days later by a statement describing it as an "electrical fault". That frightened the horses, as it raised the obvious question for the displaced tenants as to whether it was a "fault" of the electrical system, somebody DIY-ing what they shouldn't have, a dodgy appliance, or whatever.After another week or so, word appears to have been put out that it's believed to have started when something like an iron was left drawing power from one of those enclosed extension cable reels that was being used while coiled up.Although anyone reading this group will know that that's not a good idea, experience suggests that it's not as widely known as it should be by the general public -- or, more importantly, *why* cables should be unwound.(fn)What I find unsettling is that (as far as I can make out), the F&R service seems to now be stating what they think was the likely cause of the fire, but hasn't gone furthter to explain why a coiled-up cable coould have been the problem. Coupled with their earlier "electrical fault" comment, I suspect there will be a number of people out there who'll conclude that it was a defective cable or appliance, rather than a perfectly sound cable (and appliance) that was being used in an unsafe manner.(fn) I'm thinking here of my...

Fire incident

Jun 11, 2023 Last reply: 3 years ago 67 Replies

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Tim Streater 3 years ago

and very shoddy these are too, I'm afraid:

a) such a plug can be unplugged just by kicking it

b) the sockets are not shuttered, so any kid can do itself harm with a pair of knitting needles (shuttered sockets mandatory here).

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alan_m 3 years ago

and just because they can do it - 22 outlets

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Select one of the alternative images on the side to see how 28 devices can actually be fitted in the extension power block (it also has 6 USB outlets)

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Paul 3 years ago

The problem with bazaar sales now, is the possibility of getting un-vetted electrical goods through such sites.

Who could resist a strip with 22 outlets (22 toasters) ?

And the USB outlets ? So pretty.

It was designed by the marketing department of Random Things Inc.

The only thing I can find to match, is a 24 outlet strip, which doubles as a Light Saber. 72" length, so three inch spacing. I checked, and it has more certs than the last strip I bought. Has a 15a breaker button on it.

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"Product Certifications cUL Listed; UL 1363; UL Listed"

Paul

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Andy Burns 3 years ago

Olson max-out at 20x 13A sockets (BS1363)

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Adrian Caspersz 3 years ago

How do ye make a dog purr? Shove it 48hrs in the freezer, slice with the bandsaw and meeeoooowwww ...

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