According to this report from The Daily Mail, a row of houses in Castleton, West Yorkshire, UK exploded literally seconds after firefighters evacuated the residents. The causes of the string of blasts, firefighters told The Daily Mail, was the theft of copper electrical cable overhead. That theft "affected the earthing of the area's electrical network," the report says.
Astonishing footage of the explosions was captured by a camera mounted to one of the firefighting vehicles. The footage was posted to YouTube.
You can see it below. The video includes multiple explosions and is slightly more than one minute in duration.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Friday, July 15, 2011
More tips for detecting counterfeit cables
Since the Fiber Optic Association published an item in its July 2011 newsletter about weighing copper cable to help determine if its conductors are copper or aluminum, the association has gotten a number of suggestions from professionals in the industry about that and other methods of counterfeit detection.
UPDATE (7/27): I have learned that most of the comments/tips provided to the FOA, and summarized here, came from James Mitchell, who operates a website called helpmecableguy.
Among the comments are the following.
1) Some cable brands include a plastic spool in the box, which adds 2 to 4 pounds to the box. And some generic cable brands can weigh as much as 25 to 30 pounds for bulk Cat 5e UTP. These differences may make it more difficult to detect a counterfeit, because even if lighter aluminum conductors are used the overall weight of the box could be close to that of a legit, copper-conductor cable.
2) Look for the holographic UL sticker (although it's also noted that holographic stickers are sometimes found on counterfeit CDs and DVDs).
3) From a street vendor in China (no kidding): Cut the wires into small sections and try picking them up with a magnet.
4) The newsletter update also expresses the importance of flammability ratings being genuine, in addition to the cable's performance characteristics.
You can read the updated FOA July 2011 newsletter here; it includes more detailed comments than those summarized in this post.
UPDATE (7/27): I have learned that most of the comments/tips provided to the FOA, and summarized here, came from James Mitchell, who operates a website called helpmecableguy.
Among the comments are the following.
1) Some cable brands include a plastic spool in the box, which adds 2 to 4 pounds to the box. And some generic cable brands can weigh as much as 25 to 30 pounds for bulk Cat 5e UTP. These differences may make it more difficult to detect a counterfeit, because even if lighter aluminum conductors are used the overall weight of the box could be close to that of a legit, copper-conductor cable.
2) Look for the holographic UL sticker (although it's also noted that holographic stickers are sometimes found on counterfeit CDs and DVDs).
3) From a street vendor in China (no kidding): Cut the wires into small sections and try picking them up with a magnet.
4) The newsletter update also expresses the importance of flammability ratings being genuine, in addition to the cable's performance characteristics.
You can read the updated FOA July 2011 newsletter here; it includes more detailed comments than those summarized in this post.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Cable-theft attempt kills 16-year-old boy
BBC has reported that a 16-year-old boy was killed in Stourton, UK on Sunday, July 3 while apparently attempting to steal copper cable and components from a power station.
The news agency identified the electrocution victim as Ryan Woolams.
The power station is owned and operated by CE Electric UK. That company told BBC it had dealt with 279 incidents of metal theft within the past year.
CE Electric UK's head of safety Geoff Earl made a plea for would-be thieves to consider the potentially tragic consequences of their actions.
You can read BBC's coverage here.
The news agency identified the electrocution victim as Ryan Woolams.
The power station is owned and operated by CE Electric UK. That company told BBC it had dealt with 279 incidents of metal theft within the past year.
CE Electric UK's head of safety Geoff Earl made a plea for would-be thieves to consider the potentially tragic consequences of their actions.
You can read BBC's coverage here.
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