Rosepark Nursing Home Fire

[Martin]

I am concerned about reference to electrics. Yes assesor should spot/comment if storage of materials etc is increasing risk of electrical ignition or fire spread. However inspection of fuse boxes?

I would be recommending inspection of fixed electrical inspection in line with IEE 17th edition. (Also portable appliance inspection regime.) If there is current inspection inspection report and any changes have relevant NICEIC report my risk assesment just says keep up the good work.

It seems in parts of the enquiry there are hints of going beyond this and actually getting into inspecting the electrics which is something I am not competent to do.

[nearlythere]

I am concerned about reference to electrics. Yes assesor should spot/comment if storage of materials etc is increasing risk of electrical ignition or fire spread. However inspection of fuse boxes?

I would be recommending inspection of fixed electrical inspection in line with IEE 17th edition. (Also portable appliance inspection regime.) If there is current inspection inspection report and any changes have relevant NICEIC report my risk assesment just says keep up the good work.

It seems in parts of the enquiry there are hints of going beyond this and actually getting into inspecting the electrics which is something I am not competent to do.

I would look at a fuse box and electrical board just to see the general condition of the components and cabling.
I would normally check for :-
Signs of burning, charring or deterioration of cabling and components.
DIY electrics.
Removal of wire tags.
Proper identification of circuits which control fire safety measures.
Safety light in vicinity.
Old wiring.
General condition.

Apart from all this I would always ask for evidence of fixed electrical inspections in line with IEE 17th edition. If this had not been done within the recommended inspection period I would recommend an immediate inspection and implimentation of a periodic service schedule.

I did carry out a FRA of a church hall recently and as the place was empty I did pull fuses to check operation of safety lighting. Apart from some saftey lighting not working when general lighting circuit was isolated I did find a fuse holder where the fuse was obviously blown as copper wire had been used to bypass the fuse.

[Midland Retty]

I am concerned about reference to electrics. Yes assesor should spot/comment if storage of materials etc is increasing risk of electrical ignition or fire spread. However inspection of fuse boxes?

I would be recommending inspection of fixed electrical inspection in line with IEE 17th edition. (Also portable appliance inspection regime.) If there is current inspection inspection report and any changes have relevant NICEIC report my risk assesment just says keep up the good work.

It seems in parts of the enquiry there are hints of going beyond this and actually getting into inspecting the electrics which is something I am not competent to do.

Hiya Martin

No one would expect a risk assessor to be a qualified electrician, but the type of things Nearlythere lists above is something that can be reasonably checked by an assessor to give an indication of the general state of the electrical supply / appliances in the property.

Annual checks are all well and good, but its what happens in between those checks, the cleaners traps a power cord in her hoover damaging it for example, someone bypasses a burnt fuse as NT found, a portable appliance has been brought into the premsies which wasnt present during the last round of PAT tests.

So the checks Nearlythere undertakes are things we can reasonably expect an assessor carry out.