Page 1957 - Week 05 - Thursday, 6 May 2010
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back to the Assembly with further information when that was available. I now have that information.
On 8 March 2010, ACTPLA’s on-call electrical inspector investigated an incident reported to him by ActewAGL that a person inspecting retrofitted thermal insulation at a premises in Scullin had received an electrical shock.
ACTPLA and the ORS-appointed inspectors both attended the incident within half an hour of the report. At the Scullin residence they interviewed the lessee/occupant, who advised them of the following details:
The worker inspecting the thermal insulation under the federal government program entered the roof space of the house via the ceiling access entranceway.
He was only in the roof space for a short time before he came down.
He stated that he had stepped in a pool of water and received an electric shock and requested that the leaseholder call an ambulance.
The shock recipient was then conveyed by ambulance to hospital.
Following electrical inspection and instrument testing onsite, the electrical inspector found that the likely cause of the shock incident was electrical current tracking from the 240-volt smoke detector through the wet ceiling plasterboard, thermal insulation and wet timbers in the roof to an earth situation.
Internal roof structure was wet due to leaks occurring in the ridge capping from above. A follow-up interview with the shock recipient would be conducted by the ORS inspector as part of the ORS investigation.
It should be noted that ACTPLA’s electrical inspectorate was working as technical adviser to ORS and does not have a final report since that is an ORS responsibility to produce. ACTPLA’s recommendations to the lessee included:
The lessee was advised to make the ridge capping weatherproof to stop it leaking onto the electrical installation.
The lessee was advised to have a safety switch protection added to the light circuit.
I am advised this was completed on 9 March.
No persons were to enter the roof space to conduct repairs unless the house’s electrical installation was disconnected from the electricity network.
The lessee was to engage a licensed electrician to certify that any electrical faults had been cleared by repairs effected prior to the house being reconnected to the electricity network.
For the information of members I can now table the following paper:
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