A series of loud noises, resembling powerful explosions, greatly frightened the residents of a small Czech village, but the real cause of a 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 alarmed by loud noises that strongly resembled real explosions. As it later turned out, the cause of the panic was a fire in the local distribution electrical panel, which was triggered by ordinary snails.
This is reported by the publication Focus.
Loud sounds of explosions and a strange find by rescuers
The incident occurred in one of the residential buildings in the Trutnov region, where firefighters were urgently called after reports of a series of strange explosive sounds. The firefighters quickly arrived at the scene and quickly localized the ignition inside the equipment.
During a thorough inspection of the burnt panel, specialists identified 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 conductive 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 power engineers. 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. Firefighters managed to extinguish the fire in time and prevented it from spreading to the residential building.
“Electrical cabinets and distribution panels located outside buildings or in damp rooms require proper protection from the penetration of small animals and insects. This helps prevent accidents and costly repairs,” specialists reminded after the fire was extinguished.
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