When you work in commercial electrical, and you pride yourself on attention to detail, quality installations and top notch electrical maintenance, you usually don’t want to think about electrical disaster stories. However, every once in awhile, it helps to look at real world examples of what can happen when you don’t do the right thing, or when you fail to take steps to ensure electrical protection. So here are a few electrical disaster stories that should give you food for thought!
1. Thomas Edison Sets Vanderbilt Parlor Alight, 1879
We might remember him as one of the greatest inventors who ever lived, but that doesn’t mean Thomas Edison didn’t make mistakes along the way. In 1879, he was asked to provide electric lighting in the Vanderbilt parlor. Since William Henry Vanderbilt was a wealthy benefactor, Edison obliged, but a wiring error lead to electricity being discharged into the wallpaper, which contained a conductive metal thread. The result was a fire that virtually destroyed the parlor!
2. Iroquois Theatre Fire, Chicago, December 30, 1903
Not long after electricity became a common fixture in buildings in the U.S., a stage light in the back of the theater overheated, ignited a velvet curtain, and started a fire that would eventually kill 602 people, making it the deadliest single building fire in U.S. history.
The accident can be attributed to poor fire safety, early lighting that overheated quickly, and the lack of emergency lighting to light the way out for victims.
3. New London School Explosion, Texas, March 18, 1937
The New London School Explosion was caused by a natural gas leak. More precisely, it was caused by a gas leak that came into contact with a bad electrical connection, causing the gas to ignite, and causing the structure to collapse. The estimated fatality count ranges from 296 to 319, depending on which source you consider more accurate.
Explosions like these lead to changes in how natural gas is supplied and used, but also highlighted the importance of safe, spark free electrical in homes that do use gas for heating and other purposes.
4. MGM Grand Hotel Fire, Las Vegas, November 21, 1980
Proof that electrical disasters weren’t relegated to the early days of electrified buildings, the MGM Grand Hotel in 1980 was caught in a conflagration that started with an electrical fire, was fed by PVC pipes and other synthetic materials, tore through 26 floors, killed 87 and injured more than 700. This accident was proof that even on large, high profile buildings, mistakes with electrical systems could be catastrophic.
Learn from the Past
One of the most important things disasters like these, and others, have taught us is that while electricity can power our lives, and is a critical part of civilization, it’s also very dangerous, with the potential to do severe damage.
It is absolutely critical that we learn from the mistakes of the past, and design electrical systems and installations for the future with better electrical protection methods in place, to ensure that residential and commercial electrical is safer for everyone.
Recent Comments