The Central Electricity Authority reported 10,022 electrical accidents in India during 2019-2020 and close to 55% of these were due to faulty electrical installations. As most fires find their cause in electrical issues in buildings this highlights the need to adhere to safe practises to prevent electrical mishaps. But it is common to find many oversights in this area as well. That is why our auditors go deep into the inspection of all the electrical systems on site. The proper functioning of Residual Current Circuit Breakers (RCCB) that detects electric current leaks and disconnects the circuit preventing electrocution, electric shocks and fires cannot be stressed enough. Other red flags are overloaded sockets, loose connections, using wires without plugs, lack of or improper earthing of electrical equipment, using single insulated wires as against double insulated that can cause short circuits, absence of rubber mats near electric panels, taking haphazard electrical connections that are not properly concealed etcetera that fire safety auditors look out for. A practice that every facility should adopt is for the employees as well as the security in charge to see that all electrical switches are turned off and that there isn’t any combustible material lying around next to electrical panels. Also facility managers must be aware that the fire extinguishers in server rooms is of a special type called a CO2 flooding system that prevents total damage to the electrical wires and fittings. Testing the health of the RCCB is also an important task in the electrical safety management and ensures proper earthing is done as part of the electrical system of the building.
