Sunday, September 7, 2014

When a fire Official plays Electrical inspector he gets a complaint filed against him with L&I in Harrisburg

While cleaning up some minor electrical issues at a store in thats being used for 2 months to sell Halloween stuff I encountered a Fire Official who has taken it upon him self to determine what is and what is not a  electrical code violation .
Unfortunately for him there is only one person who can do this and that is a Certified Electrical Inspector recognized by local utility who holds an Electrical Inspectors I card .
This Fire official wants the tabs removed which allow breakers to be locked in place  which supply important loads like phone systems, alarms etc and labeled instead of being locked.
Sorry this is beyond his authority breaker lock tabs are permitted per NEC70# electrical code.

Breaker lock Tab

He then wants locks on breaker panels  lids which where made in 60's and are no longer available.
and  he wants a lock retrofitted to panel.
 This is a direct Violation of NEC70 # you are not permitted to alter panels
These panels are in a locked room not open to public so they do not need locked only authorized employees are allowed back in this room. 

I have filled out and filed a formal complaint with dept of Labor & Industry in Harrisburg  Pa.

So needless to say if he denies or delays this stores opening and insists on this practice he is in direct violations of rules and it will result in disciplinary action from Harrisburg and dept of labor and Industry  which will prohibit him from doing further inspections.

 I have also Notified OSHA local Office as he is violating OSHA rules when it comes to Lock out Tag out rules

Its one thing to worry about fire issues which you have been trained and should enforce it is a whole different issue when it comes to electrical issues this is where only trained professionals should be called and consulted when Fire Officials feel they have a potential problem and are not trained to effect such issues.

I know of one such community in North community's right this moment being sued when apartment owner filed suit against them after a fore official ordered it vacated. 

So this means this official has exceeded his authority ordered non problems corrected which results in electrical code violations and puts him and his township in direct liability  should anything go wrong.
as they say we will be seeing this official in court and I hope he has all his certifications in order



1 comment:

  1. Electrical safety is one of the most important ways to preventing fires. I can't remember the statistic, but a pretty large percentage of household fires are caused by electrical problems, as well as a good percentage of deaths. While I admire the gung-hoedness of this guy, it's really important that everyone follows the electric codes.

    Gerald Vonberger | http://www.ejgrayelectric.com

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