Cracker of a picture

pheonix · 7 May 2010

I know how much you all love pictures so here's the result of a lighting gear tray/box deciding to literally go up in flames

Bit 'over-cooked'!

pheonix
7 May 2010
1

Control gear fire.

I'm a maintenance engineer for a large lighting maintenance company and was just about to get the paperwork signed off in a large department store today when the fire alarm goes off. In-store techie thinks its a false alarm as he can't see or smell anything near the heat detector that went off. I go and check the area as curiosity gets the better of me and notice a large bank of lights out. So I grab a pair of steps, pick a random place to pop a tile and look above the ceiling only to be confronted by this gear box shooting flames out the top and sides!

Techie thought I was having a laugh till I told him to go look for himself, never seen someone run down ladders so fast

ColJack · 8 May 2010

so wait, you were about to get the paperwork signed off saying that in your opinion as the lighting maintainenece guy that all of the lighting was in good working order and that any alterations, repairs or additions you made were safe.. then a lighting gear tray bursts into flames?
wow.. would your face have been red...
you'd have felt like the guy that signed off on the Titanic being unsinkable..

pheonix · 8 May 2010

I'd been in the store all week doing what we call a pro-active visit which involves repairing all failed lighting. Everything was working as it should and I'd filled out all the paperwork ready to be signed before this thing decided to go up in smoke.
I'm just so very glad that

A. I was still on site and not halfway up the road to my next job and

B. It was a section of lighting that I hadn't touched as it was all ok previously

Not sure if I'm allowed to say what store I was in but it was a Debenhams store in Scotland.

333rocky333 · 8 May 2010

Looks to me like an igniter.
Usually due to a failed lamp and continuously trying to restart.
Timed igniters hep prevent that.

similar thing in a cloths store

Untitled

333rocky333
8 May 2010
2

And the old regular favourite,lighting choke.

Untitled

333rocky333
28 Sep 2008
2

pheonix · 8 May 2010

Nice pics rocky

In the picture the ignitor is to the top left, the wire-wound ballast in the centre, the capacitor (or whats left it) to the top right of the box and the melted mass below it is the incoming fuse block.

Thankfully non-timed ignitors are becoming rare these days, haven't seen any in ages.

333rocky333 · 8 May 2010

pheonix said:
Nice pics rocky
In the picture the ignitor is to the top left,

Oh yeah see the terminals now

Do you do any "Arcadia" work, some of there older stores are a nightmare.

pheonix · 8 May 2010

Thankfully no but that could change as my company is looking to get its foot in the door with them so to speak.
The worst contract we have is Boots stores, some of the old stores are horrible but some of the old Alliance pharmacy shops they've taken over are in a worse state

streetlighter · 8 May 2010

Is your company the one thats part of the David Webster group ?

pheonix · 8 May 2010

I don't think so though we have been through the mill with takeovers etc

Years ago we used to be Parkersell L & E then Dalkia took us over spending a fortune on re-branding and advertising etc. Then two years ago (if I remember correctly) all managers/foremen engineers got a text message saying that Dalkia had sold our division to Mitie for a few million £

ppuch1 · 9 May 2010

pheonix said:
I don't think so though we have been through the mill with takeovers etc

Years ago we used to be Parkersell L & E then Dalkia took us over spending a fortune on re-branding and advertising etc. Then two years ago (if I remember correctly) all managers/foremen engineers got a text message saying that Dalkia had sold our division to Mitie for a few million £

That's correct and now Mitie are about to make a load of ETI & PAT engineers Redundant !!!
Thanks Mitie

streetlighter · 9 May 2010

Ah i was thinking of Weblight they offered me a job a few years back but i turned it down.

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