Pride of the neighborhood

Aug. 1, 2002
This fenced-in local electric utility transformer, surrounded by overgrown vegetation and garbage, has a lack of proper working space. It was located in an industrial area that was often frequented by the homeless, and was also used as a storage area for their grocery carts, blankets and collections of soda cans and bottles. Electrical installations in a vault, room or closet or in an area surrounded

This fenced-in local electric utility transformer, surrounded by overgrown vegetation and garbage, has a lack of proper working space. It was located in an industrial area that was often frequented by the homeless, and was also used as a storage area for their grocery carts, blankets and collections of soda cans and bottles.

Electrical installations in a vault, room or closet or in an area surrounded by a wall, screen or fence (access to which is controlled by lock and key or “other approved means”) are considered to be accessible to “qualified persons only.” The type of enclosure used in a given case is required to be designed and constructed according to the “nature and degree” of the hazard(s) associated with the installation. See Section 110.31 for enclosures for electrical installations.

Attention CEE News readers. Do you have a photo of a glaring Code violation? Mail your color photos and descriptions to Joe Tedesco at 350 North St., Boston, MA 02113 or e-mail them to [email protected]. Your photo may be published in our upcoming photo gallery of America's worst NEC violations.

About the Author

Joe Tedesco

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