The morning call., 1894-11-21
A GREAT DANGER.
How Fires Are Caused by
Electric Wires.
The Edison Light and Power Wires
Are Never lnspeCted-Queer
State of Affairs.

George P Low. electrical inspector for
the Pacific Insurance Union. says he has
no doubt that the Goldberg, Bowen &
Lebenbaum fire was caused by the electric
wires OF the Edison Light and Power
Company.
Mr.. Low. in this connection. reveals a
state Of affairs that is rather startling, to
say the least.
The system of the Edison Light and
Power Company" said Mr. Low last even
Ing, includes a third. or middle. and
neutral wire in absolute contact with the
ground-that is, the positive, the negative
and this third grounded wire. The pur-
pose OF this wire. they claim, is to relieve
the stress on The other wires chiefly. But
1t has other purposes and other disad-
Vantages.
In the first place it weakens the insula-
tiOn in every portion Of The city on the
underground sys TENS. With this grounded
neutral as it exists in the business portion
of the city it is impossible to tell whether
any part of the wiring in any building is
free from The ground, for the reason that
this portion of the wiring is solidIy con-
nected with the ground. l hold that no
system Of wiring is proper or safe unless
II is entirely disconnected from the ground.
The officers OF the company themselves
say that it Is next to Impossible to keep
the wires going 10 all parts of the city
Tree. a Leak occurs somewhere; they
have no way of locating il other than to
burn out the wire. Accordingly they turn
on the full force of their big dynamos. the
wires burn away. the lights in some build
ing go out, they receive telephone
message 10 that effect and they 20
and make the repairs. Rene Der
they are completely in the dark
In hot
cause it, until they have resOrted To the
dangerous experiment of blowing OUT the
wire by an extra load Of electricity, and it is
quite possible hat they were simply blow
ing out a wire somewhere when Goldberg,
Bowen IL Lsben baum and the Press CLUB
rooms we're ignited.
Il may say further" continued Mr..
Low. that the buildings fitted out by
the Edison Light and Power Company
are never inspected by the Insurance
Union, because we are never notified, aud
have no means OF knowing when wires are
being put in. All other companies give
us notice, and we report when the wiring
is done. according 10 the Requirements Of
the law. The company seems TO
be above inspection. L notice from
the fire reports that a blaze occurred in
the Adams 81 Kibbe building on McAllister
street just last week caused by electric
wires placed by this company. 1t is i'm
DbeoIDIc III l6Sl luo CODuIllUU VI any WlIlUR
in any building attached TO the underground
serVice-the service with the grounded
wire l mean-and therefore l hold that all
such wiring must be considered dangerous.
''Of course [ know they will say that |
dom know what l am talking about, that
IL Is necessary 10 have grounded wire
and all that, but the fact is il is not, and,
more than that, they operated without it
for some time after they started, and very
successfully. They had their own reasons
for changing il. 1t is safe to say the Pa
citic Insurance Union will take some &C
ton in this matter"
Superintendent Hewitt OF the Fire
Alarm Telegraph Company was asked
what be thought bout the danger from
wires with facilitating current, and he
said that the danger was cert AMY great.
| The remedy he suggested was careful
wiring and Insulation. The danger came
| largely from overlooking the wires from
short circuits. Careful provision should be
| made against this. The little wire made
| of German silver and lead, called the
fuse block" which ELBOWS OUT when
| more current is placed on the wires than is
necessary. should be carefully looked after
with regard to the fuse blocks Expert
/ Low said that they were all right so far as
! they go, but unless thu wires are just right
small current may produce fire as well
| as heavy one.
Frank Il. Smith. expert for the Edison
Light and Power Company. was seen las.
night with regard to all this. He denied
that he had ever admitted to Fire Marshal
Towe that the burning of the wires by
elscuicity had caused the Pine-street fire.
He said that he was convinced that the
| burning of the building brought the wires
t0gether and that they then burned out.
| He said the wires were amply protected
! by insnlation and were pac ked in separate
wooden grooves, making it Impossible for
| them to come together and cause a blaze.
The Slain SIopper