Do you have redundant live cable lurking in your home?

Imagine this terrifying situation occurring in your home....

The Health and Safety Executive concluded in May 2015 that a worker electrocuted by a live cable whilst carrying out work in a food premises, was killed as a result of negligence by the company to have the live cable removed.

The 21 year old subcontractor was killed by a 240v electrocution after accidentally touching a live cable whilst carrying out the course of his work. The live cable was part of an old system that had been removed back in 2008, however the live cable had never been identified and was unknown to the company.

The Health and Safety investigation stated that the company had plenty of opportunity to deal with redundant cable on the premises, but had assumed they were not live. However, had the old cable been removed in a systematic and controlled way or subsequent checks carried out which would have identified poor practice, the death of the worker could have been prevented.

How do you know if you have live cable like this in your home?

As a certified electrician in Coventry, I commonly come across live cable in peoples homes. Common to the scenario above, the home owners are often completely unaware the cable could be live, they just get used to seeing it there. When I first qualified as an electrician, a lady was electrocuted in her home after accidentally touching live cable, the story made the news and repairing the electrical danger afterwards, knowing it has cost someone their life is a job that no electrician wants to undertake. After this incident, I wanted to do everything I could to put electrical safety in peoples minds.

The truth of the matter is that there is often no way of knowing if you have any live cable in your home if you have had no form of electrical testing carried out. Live cable can exist in several forms, however there is never any acceptable reason why it has been left there. If you have live 'redundant' cable in your home, you are at risk of death from electric shock. You will not know where this cable is located most of the time which is when an electrical accident is most likely to occur.

How an electrical safety inspection can help

Having your home electrics inspected to see if they are keeping you safe is the only way of knowing for certain if you have redundant live cables in your home. Electrical safety inspections are known as an EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report) and is an in depth inspection and electrical testing of your home in Coventry. You receive a report with the outcome and any dangers or recommendations to make your home safer which has been identified by the electrician.

Of course, live cables will be identified as a danger and in order to prevent electrocution of yourself or a loved one would need to be removed as a matter of urgency. The presence of live cables often comes as a surprise to home owners and are often the result of past electrical work being carried out in the property that has not been correctly carried out. This can go back many years to previous owners, so if you own an older property and have never had an EICR carried out on your property, as a local electrician in Coventry I would be happy to advise you further.

If you spot suspect cable

If you spot any unexplained cable in your home which appears to have no use, never touch it. People have been killed attempting to move such cable out of the way during the course of tidying up or moving the house around. You will need to contact your local qualified and registered electricians. As one of the leading electrical companies in Coventry I receive calls of this nature on a regular basis.

Never be tempted to carry out any form of testing or checks yourself, always leave it to the experts. Call an electrician in Coventry to put it right for you – safely and once and for all.