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Electrical Code / Ground Fault Interupters |
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Written by Administrator
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Friday, 29 August 2008 12:18 |
Fact: The Ohio Renaissance Festival not only provides electrical service to merchants, it charges merchants for that service.
Fact: This service is often so overloaded that the site manager comes around to order people to unplug and turn off electrical devices and claims it is because the food services buildings which are owned by the Ohio Renaissance Festival do not have enough electricity to operate.
Fact: The voltage on this system has been measured at a rating far below standard household current.
I believe an over concern for profit and lack of concern for proper electrical code has resulted in a situation where the Ohio Renaissance Festival has horribly overloaded its wiring. Rather than spending what it would take to upgrade services, they continue to sell connections which far exceed capacity. It is not uncommon for circuit breakers to trip several times a day.
Fact: Most of the booths who are sold electricity are not hardwired for that electricity. Although they are permanent structures, they have no circuit breaker or fuse box. Instead, long extension cords are strung from the building to common electrical outlets behind the building. Often several buildings plug in their extension cords at the same location. This has generated a shortage of outlets and a demand that each booth is only allowed to plug in one extension cord. The result is that the rear of these buildings are snaked with extension cords, often one plugged into the next with a series of splitters and a draw so high that I have seen steam rise from warm extension cords on a misty morning.
Fact: Despite the fact that these extension cords rest outside and on the ground, I have not observed proper use of ground fault interrupter circuits. In fact, staff and management of the Ohio Renaissance seems so unaware of the need of proper wiring to and ground fault circuits to protect its participants, that I have seen the outdoor showers strung with indoor Christmas tree strings. Following that strand to its source, I observed no GFI circuit or so much as a ground plug.
I believe the Ohio Renaisance Festival should be made to insure the safety of its customers and participants by making sure all wiring is up to proper code.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 03 September 2008 15:47 )
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