Electrical Inspection. Post Arson fire

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WesleyinsPace

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Location
WV
Occupation
Electrician
My house was the unfortunate victim of an arson. It burned up the front side of my house, the garage and bedrooms have no fire damage besides smoke and the garage has literally zero damage. My Panel is in the garage. The electric company took the meter out and turned off my electricity. I need an inspection to turn it back on. My issue is, I want grid Power to Power my devices while I make the necessary repairs to my house. Im currently living in my garage.

The question is, What is the minimum I can do to Pass an inspection to get the electrical company back out to Put my meter back in to give me grid Power.

Can I just remove all the wires from my Panel and just hook up a few receptacles in the garage to Pass inspection. that way I can have grid Power while I make repairs to my house. Then get the house reinspect after I make all the repairs.

BTW I'm a commercial electrician , so I can do the work myself also my laptop was damaged in the fire so I don't have functioning question mark or the letter P. I have to coPy and Past every time I use it.

Thanks,
Wes
 
You're going to have to check with your AHJ. If the AHJ trust you he will let you do what you have described above. Otherwise, you may be required to install a temp pole in the yard.
BTW Did they catch the arsonist?
 
Thanks for response, Buck.

Yes, they caught him and released him 10,000 bail... even though he caused over 200k in damages. Hes living with his mom...
 
WesleyinsPace said:
The question is, What is the minimum I can do to Pass an inspection to get the electrical company back out to Put my meter back in to give me grid Power.

Can I just remove all the wires from my Panel and just hook up a few receptacles in the garage to Pass inspection. that way I can have grid Power while I make repairs to my house. Then get the house reinspect after I make all the repairs.
Click to expand...
I don't think they will just let you just turn the power back on. After a fire like this a house is normally condemned. That means you have to get all the permits to rebuild just like new contruction (even if they call it fire restoration).

This means that you would have to get a building permit and a regular electrical permit and also temporary electrical power permit. I think that I could get the power turned on in most jurisdictions around here if there is no damage to the service and it will not need to be moved during reconstruction.

As Buck Parrish says the place to start is to talk to the AHJ. If you can explain things so it sounds safe to them it will be a big help.
 
Or normal practice here would be to setup a temp service away from the house. It easier and quicker to get power that way while ensuring something that’s still compromised by the fire doesn’t get energized.
 
cadpoint said:
All you need to do is use your favorite search engine and "WV building fire rehab"
which can give you my choice of PDF > general-specifications-for-rehab.final-version_0.pdf
Click to expand...
I agree with Jude... I probably would read the info and then call them to make sure things haven't changed.

Most places will want to see an inspection on all trades and the electrical capped off or possibly removed in areas that have been burned.

I would talk to my insurance company and see if they will pay for you to stay at a hotel.
 
This will be at discretion of the AHJ. I would think many places would let you disconnect whatever is damaged though then would give the OK to re-energize the service. Similar often happens with other events like a lightning strike, flooding, high winds, vehicle crashing into the building, etc.
 
NEMA has information about evaluating fire and water damaged electrical equipment.
As was mentioned before, your AHJ is going to be able to provide some guidance on how you should proceed. An on site inspection will likely be required for your AHJ to be able to access your situation.
 
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