There's a new worry for people in cottage country who are still cleaning up after the flooding of the past few weeks
The new danger is fire.
Since water levels on Lake Muskoka began to recede last week, electrician Chuck McNair has been checking on clients' cottages, trying to prevent a different type of disaster.
“You can see the waterline is well above the receptacle,” says McNair. “This could very easily short and start a fire. It's a series of soldered points, so as soon as that becomes full of moisture it becomes conductive and water will flash the board with electricity.”
As well, debris like pine needles and dirt in the floodwaters got inside cottages, making outlets even more combustible. And while power in many places was shut off during the flood, many cottagers are now returning for the summer and getting ready to turn the electricity back on.
“The real risk here is when people are not at the property and they're going to come up this weekend, energize their cottages not knowing where the water levels may or may not have been, not knowing if the receptacles were submerged,” he says. “Don't assume that because you've turned it on everything will be okay.”
Muskoka Lakes Fire Chief Richard Hayes says electrical fires can take days to ignite. He says it's important to make sure everything is working properly, especially for people who are only up on weekends.
“When it shorts out it generates heat … and it heats up heats up often behind the wall and can eventually burst into flames,” Hayes says. “Then we have a real problem.”
The best thing to do if there's been any water damage is to call a licenced electrician to examine the wiring and, if necessary, replace the outlets.
