Our extensive experience in the field of electrical safety testing has taught us never to take anything at face value, and that was borne out when we were carrying out a fixed wire test in a rental property in Cambridge this week. On the face of it, the light switch shown in the first picture looks perfectly OK, but when we removed it for testing we found that that was actually far from the case. In fact, we discovered that the cable and switch had started to burn. The heat from the faulty connection was causing the plastic to bubble and the insulation on the cable to melt as shown in the second photo.
For Mark Smith, owner of MS Electrical, all in all this was a prime example of something being fine on the surface but not underneath. ‘When it comes to electrical safety testing, our mantra is to take nothing for granted and to check everything as you never know what might be hidden from view,’ comments Mark. ‘When we carry out a fixed wire test, whether on a rental property or in commercial premises, we make sure that we leave no stone unturned, and this light switch emphasised why that is so important. Left unchecked, it could have worsened to cause serious injury and even death, so we urge all landlords whose electrical testing is due to contact us to book an appointment.’
MS Electrical Services offer fixed wire testing, PAT testing and emergency lighting testing in Cambridge, so please contact us to request a no-obligation quotation.