I was listening to an online Philippine radio station when the anchor man interviewed an official from the Fire Department. They were talking March as the Fire Prevention month. Again, the official mentioned that the primary cause of fire is Faulty Electrical Wiring. As an Electrical Engineer, this kind of statement annoys me as it makes Electrical Practitioners incompetent. The truth is, this is not the case as the following questions need to be answered:
- Was the installation designed by a licensed electrical practitioner?
- Was the installation installed by a licensed electrical practitioner?
- Was the installation inspected by a competent electrical inspector prior to power connection?
- Was the establishment regularly inspected by a competent electrical inspector for compliance to statutory requirements?
If any one of the questions above will be answered negatively, then a faulty electrical wiring is eminent. And do not blame the electrical engineer for it as most of the time, it is the government agency’s failure to implement statutory requirements. But do not forget, the owner. Almost always, the budget for electrical system in any project is given the least. They also engage unlicensed electricians to install as they are cheap. These are the people damaging the reputation of competent, licensed electrical practitioners. A license electrical practitioner will not put his or her integrity at stake by cutting corners. An unlicensed does.
Government agencies and all registered electrical practitioners will be more vigilant in eradicating this practice of employing unqualified electrical practitioners to do electrical jobs.