A series of loud sounds, resembling powerful explosions, greatly frightened the residents of a small Czech village, but the real cause of the large-scale fire in the electrical panel turned out to be extremely curious and unexpected even for rescuers.
Snails caused a short circuit in the electrical panel / © Associated Press
Residents of one of the villages in the Trutnov district of the Czech Republic were greatly frightened by loud sounds that greatly resembled real explosions. As it later turned out, the cause of the panic was a fire in the local distribution electrical panel, which was provoked by ordinary snails.
This was reported by the publication Focus.
Loud explosion-like sounds and a strange find by rescuers
The incident occurred in one of the residential buildings in Trutnov region, where firefighters were urgently called after reports of a series of strange explosion-like sounds. The firefighters promptly arrived at the scene and quickly localized the ignition inside the equipment.
During a thorough inspection of the burnt panel, specialists established an extremely unusual cause of the accident. It turned out that snails had somehow managed to get inside the electrical equipment.
When several mollusks simultaneously touched the current-carrying parts, a strong short circuit occurred. This instantly led to the heating of contacts, bright flashes, and a subsequent fire, which local residents mistook for explosions.
Why mollusks are dangerous for power grids
According to rescuers, although such cases sound like a curiosity to ordinary citizens, they are well-known to energy specialists. The secret lies in the moist surface of the snails’ bodies, which is an ideal conductor for electric current.
Fortunately, this time the incident passed without casualties, and all material damage was limited to the burnt distribution panel. The firefighters managed to extinguish the fire in time and prevent it from spreading to the residential building.
“Electrical cabinets and distribution panels located outside buildings or in damp rooms require proper protection against the penetration of small animals and insects. This helps prevent accidents and costly repairs,” the specialists reminded after extinguishing the fire.
A pet dog accidentally caused a large-scale fire by turning on a toaster in the kitchen. The fire caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage and led to the deaths of three animals.
Comments Sort: New Old Popular Send