In order to cause a fire due to electricity, an arc must occur. An arc is a spark generated by the short-circuiting of the electric current between two opposing charged poles. In order for an arc to form, the insulating material on the electrical devices must be damaged or lost its properties. Insulation materials may have lost their properties sometimes due to external conditions, overheating of the insulation material, or the occurrence of a surge voltage difference between the poles.

The heating of the insulating material may be caused by loosening of the connections of the electrical devices, the overloading of the load, the electrical cables being of small cross-section with respect to the current drawn, or the maintenance of the electrical devices.

In such cases, if the protection devices such as electric fuse and residual current relay do not fulfill their duties, there is a high risk of fire. In general, electrical damage to the electrical installation is caused either by sparks during the expulsion of circuit breaker or switchgear equipment or by damage caused by overheating.

In order to prevent electrical fires, some precautions must be taken. For example,

• Electrical installation must be installed in accordance with legal regulations such as Grounding in Electrical Installations and Electrical High Current Installations Regulations.
• Transformer protection relay settings must be made correctly and transformers should be serviced regularly by authorized persons or organizations.
• Antigron cables should be laid in damp and wet areas. In addition, sockets and fittings in accordance with IP54 standard should be used in damp and dusty areas.
• Firms that operate or store with easily flammable raw materials such as paper, sawdust, cotton or the like in production are places with high risk of fire and appropriate precautions should be taken against fire. Electrical installations should not be provided in such areas.
• Electrical panels, sockets and lighting should be taken out of the place in areas and warehouses where raw materials such as flammable chemicals are used.
• It is necessary to protect the cables going to all machines with electrical fuses. When selecting a fuse, the conductors must comply with the standards. Irregular transport of cables or inadequate wiring increases the risk of fire.

Our company, within the framework of electrical safety examinationsconducts electrical fire prevention measurements in accordance with relevant regulations, standards and test methods published by local and foreign organizations.