Is there such a thing as an Emergency?

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beanland

beanland

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Location
Vancouver, WA
2005 NEC 590.3(C) states that during an "emergency" the 90 day temporary time limit does not apply. However, the NEC definitions do not define "emergency." Here is the problem: public airport; wind cone (wind sock) is a legally required navigation aid; it is scheduled for relocation in the summer of 2009; however the old direct-buried wire has failed; the wind cone cannot be lit; a safety violation exists because this is legally required. IMHO this constitutes an "emergency".

This is compounded by the problem that the airport where the wire runs is a wetlands. We cannot bring trenching equipment on site until summer. We would like to run hard service cord on the surface (away from all traffic and paved surfaces) to power the wind cone as a temporary measure. This appears to qualify under 590. This would be "temporary" per NEC.

Inspector says this will not meet minimum requirements of NEC. So, how do I meet NEC and get emergency temporary service to the wind cone?
 
beanland said:
2005 NEC 590.3(C) states that during an "emergency" the 90 day temporary time limit does not apply.
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No it doesn?t. The 90 day limit has to do with ?holiday lights,? and nothing else.
beanland said:
. . . the old direct-buried wire has failed; the wind cone cannot be lit; a safety violation exists because this is legally required. IMHO this constitutes an "emergency".
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I agree. But you don?t need that.
beanland said:
So, how do I meet NEC and get emergency temporary service to the wind cone?
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I think you can use 590.3(A). You propose to employ a temporary installation during the period of repair of equipment (at the existing wind sock location) and during the construction of equipment (at the new wind sock location). IMHO, that is within the scope of 590.3(A), and there is no 90 day limit. In this instance, the repair will require favorable weather and soil conditions. So there will be a delay in performing the repair and the construction. But nothing I can see in the book requires you to be on site and making progress every day, in order to continue to use the temporary installation.
 
I can see your point but at the same time I can see the inspector not wanting to give the go ahead to take a short cut with the feed to a navigation aid.

My suggestion is run rigid pipe across the ground and stake it down.
 
charlie b said:
I think you can use 590.3(A). You propose to employ a temporary installation during the period of repair of equipment (at the existing wind sock location) and during the construction of equipment (at the new wind sock location).
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I think they better have pulled all the construction permits if they want to try that one. :smile:
 
iwire said:
I can see your point but at the same time I can see the inspector not wanting to give the go ahead to take a short cut with the feed to a navigation aid.

My suggestion is run rigid pipe across the ground and stake it down.
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I agree with Bob. All to often temporary become permanent, sometimes simply by accident, your intentions might be all well and good to replace it as soon as time allows, but the next thing you know there are other projects that take priority.

I was watching a show the other night where they are replacing the runway at an airport a section at a time every night, that's tear out, recompact and asphalt. They shut the runway down at a certain time and they have to be able to land jets on it the next morning. I think if they can do that, there's no reason that a underground conduit couldn't be repaired in a reasonable time frame.
 
Being Removed

Being Removed

FYI. The existing wind cone will be demolished and a new one installed in a different location this summer. All we need is to be able to keep the lights on (four 150W floods), at reasonable cost, until the new wind cone is installed.

We have permits for the job site and have been working there however this is an emergency repair. Funding all comes from State aviation offices. Funding for the new wind cone is approved for 2009. However, because it is a wetlands, we cannot excavate until summer. So, we need a legal way to fix the existing, temporarily and safely, until the new wind cone is functioning.
 
Generator

Generator

A generator would be gone in less than 24 hours. Maybe if we built a concrete block house around it it would stay around an extra day or two.
 
beanland said:
A generator would be gone in less than 24 hours. Maybe if we built a concrete block house around it it would stay around an extra day or two.
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So what makes you think a cable would be any different? I know copper prices are down, but ... ... ...

From what I've heard the rigid on the ground sounds best to me.

Good Luck,
Doug S.
 
Rigid on the ground sounds good, but the OP mentions that this is a wetland. In that environment, sched 80 pvc might be a better choice, but SOOW might still be even better. First, it could be diffiocult to physically install pipe, but easy to toss a rope across and pull the SOOW. Second, is this inside the AOA (airport operations area)? If so, this is an area of quite limited access, so I wouldn't worry -too- much about random people tripping over it.
 
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