USE OF ELECTRICITY.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume L, Issue 16458, 17 June 1924, Page 6

USE OF ELECTRICITY.

QUESTION OF INSTALLATIONS. lIOMIE-MADE FUSES. (Per Press Association.) AUCKLAND, last night. Interesting evidence regarding electrical installations was given at an enquiry before Mr. Hunt, S.M., into the recent, fire at the city markets. Mr. E. F. Gilmour, electrical inspector for the Underwriters’ Association, after describing the condition of fittings alter the fire, was cross-examined by Mr. Ostler, who appeared for every insurance company in the Dominion except- the State Department. Mr. Ostler said the regulations cast the onus on the licensee, in this case tlie Power Board, to see that the rules of the Underwriters’ Association shall ho followed when making installations. “I do not consider it a wise policy,” continued witness, “that the public should he qnconraged to mend fuses on their own installations. It is a job that should be done by an expert. 1 have seen home-made fuses of nails, pennies, hairpins and blades of table knives.”

Mr. Ostler (reading from a pamphlet issued by the Power Board): “Every housej should have some spare fuse, and every housewife should know how to put new wire in the fuse on the switchboard when the lights fail. Ask your meter readers to show you how to do it.” Is that good information?— No. In answer to Mr. Ostler, dealing with the .danger of electrocution, witness said that the lowest voltage known to have electrocuted a man was 78.8 volts. In 1923. in witness’s own district, there were 23 fires from electrical sources, the damage amounting to £42,000. F. B. Shephard, chief electrical inspector for New Zealand for the Underwriters' Association, stated that in his opinion the fire emanated from the electrical source, caused by defects in the system. Witness had seen other defects, and considered them a grave impropriety on the linesmen concerned. The fire would have been avoided had the inspections been carried out as laid laid down in the Public Works Act. The installation should be inspected before being connected with the current, and then inspected frequently. A rigid system of licensing of electrical linesmen should also be followed. To Mr. Ostler: From 1902 to 1922 the number of fatal accidents* from electrical causes was 30, and the number of accidents 131. A large number of those bad been caused on household installations. In every case on a list showing the number of fires from electrical origins in the dominion Auckland heads the list.

Mr. Shepherd stated, in reply to Mr. Osier, that the general rules for ,wiring were intended to contain only such requirements and precautions as were generally necessary, and not to instruct untrained persons. The Underwriters’ Association would not be equally to blame with the Power Board in regard to faulty installation being passed. The underwriters’ inspectors did not inspect every installation. That would need an army of inspectors, and there was no statutory obligation on the underwriters to inspect. In regard to periodical inspection after installation, once in a year might be advisable for a factory and once in five years might be sufficient in the case of a private bouse. Sidney Eldridge Ivennings, manager nnd chief engineer to the Electrical Department of A. and T. Burt, said there was a feeling of uneasiness among reputable firms consequent on complaints of faulty wiring, as it placed them under suspicion, and also because the extra cost of supervision must be borne by them. They sought a system of inspection. The Power Board was helping to a certain extent by the issue of licenses through its Licensing Board. Decision was reserved.