20160516 India Spike in short-circuit fires
India May 15 2016 “Houses”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : 0 or unknown Injured : injured 0 or unknown
Spike in short-circuit fires
Updated: 2016-05-16-08:30
As the city reels under temperatures northward of 44 degree celsius, fire incidents due to heat have also reported a spike.
According to Ahmedabad Fire and Emergency Services (AFES) officials, the services are responding to an average of five calls on a daily basis, where heat-related issues, such as electrical short-circuits and overheated machinery, mostly in old-model cars had led to incidents of fire.
On Sunday morning, AFES received a call from Gala Aurum Bungalows behind Karnavati Club off SG Road, where a fire broke out in the bungalow from electrical short-circuit. It took three hours for the AFES to bring the fire under control, and douse the flames.
Rajesh Bhatt, additional chief fire officer, AFES, said that a short-circuit led the electrical wire to overheat and catch fire. “The biggest spike is in fires caused by short-circuits. The major culprit is overloading of the wires. Citizens don’t consult experts before installing excess of electronic appliances on the single phase lines, due to which the load exceeds the threshold of the installed circuits. Most households run refrigerator, washing machine, more than one air conditioner on the same connection. It sometimes breaks the circuit as the overheated wire causes sparks and catches fire,” said Bhatt.
Web Source: THE TIMES OF INDIA
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Spike-in-short-circuit-fires/articleshow/52286904.cms