There have been increasing incidents of fires recently involving factories , business houses and trading plazas in our large cities including Faisalabad , Karachi and Lahore , with heavy losses of goods and property amounting to several millions of Rupees .
Fire incidents have also been happening in the past . The main reason has been attributed to electrical short circuits .
Electrical short circuits are caused by sub – standard wiring and poor workmanship and due to non – adherence to standards and safety measures by both the power provider and / or by the owners of the outlets and the properties.
Generally , the electric installations are not well designed and constructed according to established good engineering practices . The installations are neither checked and inspected properly by competent government inspectors to ensure their compliance to prescribed regulations and standards before granting permission to operate the power supply system .
Unless the electric installations and wiring are strictly carried out and maintained as per recognised approved international practices , the short circuits are likely to continue with heavy financial losses that may include human lives as well .
Engr Riaz Bhutta
Lahore
