Pulling the dno fuse

[M1k3y1992]

Hi all

The other day a friend of mine who owns a restaurant lost power so I went to take a look for him as I was only around the corner. Upon arriving I found that the tails straight off the meter into the switch fuse had burnt out and one of them was hanging out the box (it was quite a mess and I took photos). As i didnt have any tools on me at this point i couldnt check to see if the cables were safe (although I suspected it had blown the main fuses) so I pulled the main fuses (I didn't cut any tags) as this was the only means of isolation. I then called the electric board to come out and went to fetch my van to take a closer look.

When the man came out he gave me a lot of ---- and wanted to report me saying I put myself in huge danger (in the end he calmed down and said he wouldnt) but Its been playing on my mind. I was well aware of the risks of pulling the fuse but I thought there was a greater risk of leaving it and in the hour the at they took to come out what if i had my back turned and a member of the public had walked in and touched something.

Was he right in saying that I should have just left it because as far as I believe, if something was to have happened they would have said it was the electricians responcibily as it wasn't on their side of the meter. Do you think I did the right thing or could I have handled it any better?

 

[Pete999]

Hi all

The other day a friend of mine who owns a restaurant lost power so I went to take a look for him as I was only around the corner. Upon arriving I found that the tails straight off the meter into the switch fuse had burnt out and one of them was hanging out the box (it was quite a mess and I took photos). As i didnt have any tools on me at this point i couldnt check to see if the cables were safe (although I suspected it had blown the main fuses) so I pulled the main fuses (I didn't cut any tags) as this was the only means of isolation. I then called the electric board to come out and went to fetch my van to take a closer look.

When the man came out he gave me a lot of **** and wanted to report me saying I put myself in huge danger (in the end he calmed down and said he wouldnt) but Its been playing on my mind. I was well aware of the risks of pulling the fuse but I thought there was a greater risk of leaving it and in the hour the at they took to come out what if i had my back turned and a member of the public had walked in and touched something.

Was he right in saying that I should have just left it because as far as I believe, if something was to have happened they would have said it was the electricians responcibily as it wasn't on their side of the meter. Do you think I did the right thing or could I have handled it any better?

Well I don't know the rules and regs regarding what you have described, but if you have the experience with electrical work and there was a likely hood of danger to staff or the public I would have done the same, you have to remember some of these meter men are jobsworths, do their work by numbers, bit like the Russian fighter pilots of years ago, wont do anything unless they are told to by their bosses, some can't think for themselves either.

 

[Wilko]

Each DNO will likely have a different practice, but I'm semi familiar with SSE one (it's available on line). If I recall correctly an Electrician may pull their fuse in an emergency - a CU overheating was an example quoted. Protecting yourself from an arc flash is another issue, and I wouldn't pull a fuse without PPE if the meter was still whizzing.

 

[snowhead]

Hi all

The other day a friend of mine who owns a restaurant lost power

but I thought there was a greater risk of leaving it and in the hour the at they took to come out what if i had my back turned and a member of the public had walked in and touched something.

Was he right in saying that I should have just left it because as far as I believe, if something was to have happened they would have said it was the electricians responcibily as it wasn't on their side of the meter. Do you think I did the right thing or could I have handled it any better?

The most sensible option would have been to instruct the owner / responsible person to lock up the premises (which they should already have done) and for you to have placed a physical barrier in front of the tails / cutout.

 

[M1k3y1992]

I did think afterwards I could have potentially just locked the area off but the issue was they had a restaurant full of people and the fuse board is in the main stairwell. I was not happy with just putting a barrier around the area. When pulling the fuses I wore flash gloves and a mask just in case but there was no load through the circuits as the switch fuse was off

 

[Pete999]

The most sensible option would have been to instruct the owner / responsible person to lock up the premises (which they should already have done) and for you to have placed a physical barrier in front of the tails / cutout.

And watch the building catch fire? no I think the OP did the right thing in this case.

 

[snowhead]

but the issue was they had a restaurant full of people

How big is the restaurant, there should have been a second escape route avoiding the stairs?

 

[snowhead]

No mention of flames in the O.P

Lives come before buildings.

 

[Octopus]

So a real live situation and the tails from the DNO head to the meter are the problem - would I switch off the CU(s) and pull the main fuse - definitely.

End of

 

[Pete999]

No mention of flames in the O.P

Lives come before buildings.

S o tails are smouldering away in mid air, the OP finds the owner tells him to evacuate the building, you go looking for some sort of barrier, or lock the door, in the meantime the cables are still hanging there with 230V on the ends, then go and call the DNO which will probably take some time for them to respond, once you have got past the 18 year old on the phone, mean while cable is still there maybe smouldering, still reckon the OP did the right thing.

 

[M1k3y1992]

S o tails are smouldering away in mid air, the OP finds the owner tells him to evacuate the building, you go looking for some sort of barrier, or lock the door, in the meantime the cables are still hanging there with 230V on the ends, then go and call the DNO which will probably take some time for them to respond, once you have got past the 18 year old on the phone, mean while cable is still there maybe smouldering, still reckon the OP did the right thing.

That is exactly what i thought, apart from it was 400v, my first instinct was to kill the power and normally when i have called them out before they have been really friendly, this one chap was a complete prat. What if someone had entered the building when I had my back turned. Not only that but I had the pressure of getting power back on as they had thousands of pounds worth of tables booked for that evening

 

[Loki]

Am i right in remembering that if an electrician see/finds something that is/could be dangerous/hazardous they have a duty to make it safe or they could be prosecuted if they didnt & someone got injured. So my way of seeing it they did right.

Also dno rules dont superseed electricity at works regulations or health & safety at works act.

Michael

 

[M1k3y1992]

Am i right in remembering that if an electrician see/finds something that is/could be dangerous/hazardous they have a duty to make it safe or they could be prosecuted if they didnt & someone got injured. So my way of seeing it they did right.

Also dno rules dont superseed electricity at works regulations or health & safety at works act.

Michael

This man didn't like it when I told him that haha

 

[Pete999]

That is exactly what i thought, apart from it was 400v, my first instinct was to kill the power and normally when i have called them out before they have been really friendly, this one chap was a complete prat. What if someone had entered the building when I had my back turned. Not only that but I had the pressure of getting power back on as they had thousands of pounds worth of tables booked for that evening

4ooV even worse

 

[Strima]

As there was an immediate risk to life through a potential fire risk I would have done the same thing.

If the DNO wanted to take it further, crack on and see you in court.