Found in the attic of a high-rise building, this wireway was used to supply many feeders, panelboards and other electrical equipment on the floors below. A wireway is defined as a “sheet metal trough with a hinged or removable cover for housing and protecting electric wires and cable and in which conductors are laid in place after the wireway has been installed as a complete system.”
The wireway's lack of proper support, missing covers, lost equipment grounding and apparent use as a trash container are clearly evident. I found these violations because I insisted that the locked door to the room be unlocked before I would grant any approvals during my electrical inspection.
If you bypass any space, anywhere, at any time during any electrical inspection, you're sure to leave a ghost who will come back to haunt you someday. Article 362, Section 362-3 requires installations of wireways to comply with the applicable provisions of Article 300. The Section 362-8 support rule is simple, requiring that a horizontal support be provided at each end, and at intervals not to exceed 5 ft. If individual lengths longer than 5 ft are installed, support is required at each end or joint, unless the wireway is listed for some other support intervals. The distance between supports cannot exceed 10 ft. Vertical runs of wireways are required to be securely supported at intervals not exceeding 15 ft, and cannot have more than one joint between supports. Adjoining wireway sections must be securely fastened together to provide a rigid joint.