Originally posted by: davezawadi
Data collection by fire brigades is notoriously unreliable..
Downright dodgy I'd say. If the LFB's figures don't seem quite right, and they're one of the better outfits, what are the figures from the rural brigades like?
I myself have witnessed a FB callout to "smell of smoke" being put down as electrical, when it was found to be a fag-end smouldering in dry compost in a window box. It took a good six months to get the records changed.
I was also called round to a pensioner's bungalow, after the FB switched off her fuseboard. The logged "consumer unit fault" was just a smelly bakelite lampholder which she'd recently put a 150W bulb into.
Another pensioner in the same complex wanted me to put extra sockets in her lounge, after the FB - on one of their helpful inspections - insisted that the 4-way 1m extension running her telly and digibox was a fire risk. He missed the polystyrene ceiling tiles...
I too strongly believe that the Fire Brigade reports should be independently audited before any decisions are made based upon them. We don't need a repeat of the 'dodgy dosier' which initially promoted Part P.
Certainly round here, the LABC have a tame electrician on retainer, for doing the Part P (non-reg) inspections. Perhaps these electricians could be used to give an initial opinion? Most cases should be diagnosable without being a forensic investigator! I think that route would be better than, say, giving electrical knowledge to a FB member.