KEDCO distances self from furniture company inferno

Following the fire incident that occurred at midnight of December 19, 2021, at Alibert Furniture Shop of Club Road, Bompai, Kano State, the management of Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO), has denied being responsible for the inferno.

The electricity company, in a statement signed by the Head, Corporate Office, Ibrahim Shawai, said they are not in any way responsible for the fire outbreak.

According to the management, KEDCO Health Safety and Environment Unit, who carried out an investigation to ascertain the root cause of the incident in order to put the record straight vis-à-vis ongoing speculation that “the fire outbreak was caused due to a spark from a nearby H-pole of Ahmadu Bello Way 11KV Feeder”.

“Our Health, Safety and Environment unit stated that based on findings and observations as well as interviews with some eyewitnesses, it was revealed that the fire outbreak was rather ignited by an electrical fault within the generator house and not due to a spark from our power installations.”

He said the fire could not have been ignited by a spark from the H-pole of Ahmadu Bello Way 11KV feeder close to the generator house as speculated because the J&P fuses were open and there was no load on any of the down dropper cables because the transformers were out of service for a very long time.

He added that no sign of fire or carbon deposit on the down dropper cables or at the base of the H-pole. Even if there is a spark, the fire is expected to manifest right under the H-pole not somewhere else.

Shawai said, the power installation at the top of the H-pole is intact, and the rubber that was claimed to have dropped from the pole with fire could not have escaped the roofing sheet below the H-pole.

The Head Corporate Office explained that “Ahmadu Bello Way 11KV Feeder was tried and stayed at 06:40hrs without any amendment at the point where the “spark and rubber drop” was insinuated.

“The erection of makeshift structure for generator, switchgear and diesel tanker was in gross violation of our standard safety code.

“Therefore, it can be concluded that the fire outbreak was not in any way ignited by KEDCO’s installations based on the points above, rather a technical issue from Alibert’s generator house mainly the changeover switch as observed by one of the eyewitnesses.”

He urged the public to adhere to safety standards within their premises and avoid the violation of right of way of power lines.

KEDCO: Katsina consumers unhappy, worried over issues with prepaid meters