Latest update January 20th, 2025 4:00 AM
Not all electrical fires are GPL’s fault – Chief Fire Officer
Not all electrical fires can be attributed to Guyana Power and Light although the fire may be electrical in origin.
This is according to Chief Fire Officer, Marlon Gentle, who believes that some homeowners are themselves to be blamed.
Fire Chief Marlon Gentle
Speaking to reporters on Thursday last, Gentle said that persons should be very cautious when apportioning blame to the causes of fire.
He said that investigators have the enviable task of coming up with findings for fires of electrical origins.
According to Gentle, electrical fires could result from short-circuiting, arching, failure of installation, tampering and many other things.
“Sometimes you hear fire is of electrical origin and everybody just jump and say it’s the power supply, when really, it’s a circuit in the building fails or something like that. It has nothing to do with the supply of electricity,” the Fire Chief told reporters at a press conference.
According to Bharrat Dindyal, Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL), people may have been blaming the company wrongfully.
In many cases, GPL investigations have revealed faulty house wiring to be the main cause for fires.
Explaining, he said that many homes still have wiring dating back 30 years. While GPL is not forcibly demanding homes to be inspected periodically to ensure wiring are still in good shape, the regulations are still there.
What happens is that many consumers would lose power after a fuse is blown. Without investigating, larger fuses are affixed.
However, the problem that caused the fuse to be blown in the first place is not fixed.
Eventually, the problem escalates beyond the normal circuit of the home and this is passed on the GPL circuit.
His position was supported by the Fire Chief who pointed out that many persons upgrade their buildings without doing the same to the electrical fittings.
“You upgrade the equipment in the building but you don’t upgrade the wiring. Some people install additional electrical appliances and do not consider effecting change to the electrical system in their homes,” Fire Chief Gentle stated.
In an earlier comment, Dindyal had explained that sometimes when one sees sparks coming from GPL wires to a home, it may not necessarily be the company’s fault but rather a reflection of whatever problem is happening in the home.
Additionally, many persons without checking a particular appliance would plug several of these into a particular point using a strip. This also leads to problem, some of them disastrous.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
Mental illness is real and a serious public health concern
Peeping Tom… Kaieteur News- Mental illness is a reality we often acknowledge in passing but seldom confront with the... more
OAS Secretary General Election and renewed OAS Consensus
Antiguan Barbudan Ambassador to the United States, Sir Ronald Sanders By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News- The upcoming election... more
Weekend Cartoon
