Electrical fire in Tillson - car, home, apartment destroyed
( Photo courtesy Daily Freeman )
TILLSON - A house on River Road was burned to the ground in an electical fire that spread to an adjacent apartment causing serious damage and spreading further yet to destroy a vehicle nearby. Firefighters were able to save the apartment but it will need extensive repairs before it can be occupied again. Everything else was lost. The house at 47 River Road was ablaze when firefighters arrived about 11:20 a.m. Three engines and about half a dozen tankers were at the scene for almost eight hours.
Thank God that their were no injuries or deaths. This electrical fire is THIRD one in this part of the Hudson Valley since October 8 and latest one in Ulster County. This tragically demonstrates the need to establish electrical contractor licensing. Dutchess County passed their Electrical licensing law just one day before this fire. Where is ours??
Ulster Legislators need to get to work NOW and start making serious
progress in regard to establishing their Ulster County electrical license. As of right now, Ulster County is OFFICIALLY the ONLY county where the untrained,unlicensed and unsafe electricians can wire homes.
The license will improve the quality of persons installing electrical work for all people of Ulster County and provide a means to determine who installed what, where and how. Quite simply, with a license ALL WORK MUST BE DONE ABOVE THE RADAR, no non inspected work, and there is a name to match to every installation.
WE NEED THAT LAW NOW MORE THAN EVER. Our people are the last ones who are not protected.
Political football players on this subject will be OUTED not only here, but in the court of public opinion and mercilessly, IN THE PUBLIC ARENA.
LETS GET THE BALL ROLLING NOW. No excuses.
7 comments:
I just picked up the Kingston Freeman and read the story about the electrical fire in tillson.
Licensing can't come fast enough in Ulster County.
After the elections are all over and done with in few weeks if this isn't on top of the list of things for our legislators we need to make them sorry the evEr ran for office. Like the story said we are tired of stupid games and stalling.
WE NEED A LICENSE TOO!
Electrical fires are no joke.
WE NEED LICENSING NOW.
Leave elecrical work to the licensed professionals.
The two subjects couldn't be more different. Electrical fires often start, not as a result of bad wokmanship, but as a result of the homeowner plugging in too many things or running that extension cord under the rug or trying to squeeze another year out of that old lamp with the cracked plug.
I'd wager a whole lot more fires start for reasons like these than an electrician without a license.
And no amount of licensing will stop that "Joe Fixit" homeowner from doing his own work.
These licenses are just a great lobbying effort by the big business electrical contractors to shut down the little guys.
And this is a long time union member speaking by the way.
First, there is no good reason that you can give that would justify allowing even one electrical fire to start because of even one untrained, unqualified and therefore, unlicensed person getting a job to rewire someones home.
Second, most people who are "against" licensing are the ones that have ulterior motives such as they themselves are the shoddy installers or they are protecting someone they know is.
Other than that, any rational adult would agree that people performing work that can burn or kill you should prove they know what they are doing.
Even a long time union members can be wrong sometime I guess.
Licensing for electricians is a no brainer!The so called " joe fix it homeowner" is not the one making a living on the public, whom most of them would'nt know a wirenut from a peanut.A license would insure that your hiring a qualified electrician who has been properly tested on the electrical codes that apply to the work in question.To even suggest that the motive is anything but,safety for the voting public is just absurd,and who in their right mind would not back an issue like this when it deals with the publics safety and well being!
I am NOT comfortable living in the only county that does not requre an electrical license. Please, if any Ulster Legislators are reading this - someone, anyone of you, take the bull by the horns and get this done for us.
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