DEFECTIVE SWITCHES

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17452, 29 December 1930, Page 6

DEFECTIVE SWITCHES

WATER HEATING PLANT TWO OUTBREAKS CAUSED Defective trip switches in the electrical water heating services of two houses were responsible for outbreaks of fire within a few minutes of each other last night. The first occurred at a few minutes before 10.30 pan., in Mr. Eric Upton’s house, 116 Whitaker street, and the second about half an hour later in Dr. Douglas L. Muir’s home on Kaiti esplanade. , Both houses have electric water-heat-ing installations which are fitted with switching apparatus the purpose of which is to cut off the power in the event of the water being turned off. The borough water supply was shut off at 8.30 p.m. to conserve the limited supply of water available, but the switches at both houses failed to operate, with the result that the intense heat from the electric heating elements ignited the packing and caused it to smoulder. Smoke was noticed by Mr. Upton at about 10.30 p.m., and after switching off the power at the meter, he summoned the brigade, which extinguished the. smouldering packing with a bucket of water. While the final inspection was being made of the premises an alarm was given in connection with the outbreak at Dr. Muir’s house, and members of tho brigade on arrival treated the smouldering packing with a chemical extinguisher. An odour of burning had been detected in Dr. Muir’s house, but for a time the seat of the outbreak could not be discovered, until Dr. Muir observed smoke issuing from beneath the root.

A small amount of scorching in the vicinity of the heating plant was the only damage done in Mr. Upton’s house, and the damage at Dr. Muir’s was practically negligible. When the borough water supply was cut off at 8.30 p.m., instructions were given for it to be turned on immediately an alarm of fire was given. In the case of the outbreak at Mr. Upton’s, however, the fire station was notified that it would not bo necessary to call out the brigade, and the siren was not sounded. When the alarm was given in connection with the outbreak at Dr. Muir’s the water was turned on immediately, and was available when the firemen arrived, though it was not required.