Metal all the way, no brainer

[andysparkfree]

Hi all, just thought i'dd share the picture of the live distribution board we came across this afternoon following a callout

not only was this live when we got there (seems that the fire brigade removed the wrong fuse from the ryefield board) but is a shocking example why every old distribution board should be changed to metal asap

 

[netblindpaul]

TBH, I would be saying that the manufacturers of these boards have a LOT to answer for, but, money talks, and they have bought their way out of trouble.

 

[Rpa07]

If it wasn’t for the brown and blue, I’d have said that you put a sepia mood filter on that for effect.
Looks gooey!
Can you see where it started, anything loose or obvious?

 

[Dave OCD]

A bit of a clean and perhaps a new front cover and it'll be fine. Bloomin Drama Queens.

 

[ruston]

@Rpa07
It certainly looks like a re-touched photograph.

 

[andysparkfree]

fire was nothing to do with the fuse board( however strange nothing tripped) but yep a bit of Cillit Bang and BANG it would be as good as new !

 

[Rpa07]

@Rpa07
It certainly looks like a re-touched photograph.

It’s mildly haunting - it keeps drawing me back! I hope I don’t have nightmares - I’M MELTING!

 

[Rpa07]

If it was nothing to do with the fuseboard, you’d probably have to put a temporary supply in for the clean up anyway, wouldn’t trust a metal board after the fire service spraying their hoses all over the shot!

 

[Rpa07]

I’ll bet that it still goes down in the statistics as a fuseboard fire cause.

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

Quick jet wash to clean it all off and a hair dryer then pop down the supplier tomorrow for a new empty cu and it will be good to go.

 

[ruston]

If it had been a metal box it would have cooked the innards and bared those nice cables..

 

[westward10]

What a strange thread, this is a shocking example why every old distribution board should be changed to metal asap backed up by the distribution board was not even the cause of the fire!
I should hope you are not preaching this to your customers.

 

[Deleted member 105166]

@Rpa07
It certainly looks like a re-touched photograph.

Hmmm, I agree, there's something not quite right about that pic.

 

[andysparkfree]

no not really in to job creation, was more thinking of it db was metal, it could of been isolated easier ! Safety!

 

[westward10]

no not really in to job creation, was more thinking of it db was metal, it could of been isolated easier ! Safety!

How so?

 

[andysparkfree]

As i would hope that you could lift the flap and turn off the main switch a lot easier
as you can see in the picture, nobody would really want to stick fingers or anything else close

 

[KEV 1 N]

If all terminations within a DB are made correctly and tightened properly, then there is no reason why there should be overheating to cause a fire. The majority of burnt cables I’ve encountered are purely down to the fact they haven been tightened sufficiently. The change to metal DBs (in domestic) to contain fire is akin to putting a bucket under a leaking roof..........fix the roof!
If installed correctly there is nothing wrong with existing plastic DBs.

 

[shaun1]

It's interesting to see that whilst the case and front cover has mostly melted away the important bits (breakers, main switch, cable insulation and even the structure around the busbars) has remained largely intact.

 

[andysparkfree]

just lack of melting plastic in the way of the main switch, or at least i'dd hope

 

[shaun1]

Was the fire close to the board or is that smoke damage?