b"ELECTRICAL CODEA FAILURE OF IMAGINATIONRoofing, the Canadian Electrical Code, andwhy the status quo isn't working anymoreBY JAMES KLASSENYou can find this article in both the printed and digital editions of Roofing BC, the trade magazine published by RCABC; the digital version is availableat www.rcabc.org/publications. For the full version of this article, visit RCABC online at www.rcabc.org. I n 2010, the roof of a seniors resi- adjacentiscombustibles.Fortunately,What You Dont Know Can Hurt Youdential complex clubhouse in thenooneinsidetheseniorsbuilding To understand how roofing, electricity Greater Vancouver area unexpect- sustained injuries. and fires are related, lets begin with how edly caught fire. Asphalt shinglesThisonlyonestory.Thereareelectricityandelectricalsystemswork. ontheroofhadbeenreplacedthreeothers. Are they preventable? Yes, butSome of what follows is an oversimplifi-years earlier. Unbeknownst to anyone, apreventionwillrequireimaginationcation, but this article is not intended to fastener damaged wiring installed closeofnewpossibilitiesandthecouragebe a primer on electricity.to the underside of the roof sheathing (deck). The injured wire never tripped atoembraceconsiderablechangeinThe force of the push in electricity breaker before fire erupted, but an inde- construction and electrical design prac- is called volts. Voltage is often referred pendent cause and origin investigationtices. In the absence of such imagina- to as the potential in an electrical circuit suggested the injured wire had eventu- tion, we risk repeating the mistakes ofacircuitratedfor120voltsisthe ally arced through its insulation, ignitingthe Apollo 1 disaster. maximum force in the circuit. Voltage 28 lROOFINGBClFALL 2022"