The General Manager of the Electric Power Corporation (E.P.C.), Faumui Tauiliili Toimoana said fires due to electrical faults are highly unlikely as he refutes some of the claims in regards to the causes of recent fires.

Fires which have destroyed buildings and homes in the last month were been said to have been caused by electrical faults.

In an interview with the Samoa Observer on Wednesday, Faumui explained that one of the challenges is that most of the fire incidents occur at night time and early morning hours before sunrise.

He said there was a high chance that it could not be due to electrical fault despite the Samoa Fire and Emergency Services Authority (S.F.E.S.A.) claiming so.

“The problem is, we are not involved in the investigations,” he said.

 “That’s S.F.E.A's own investigations where they said the fires were caused from electrical faults.

“Mind you most of these fires happened at night time and early morning, unless there’s an active electrical line that may cause a fire like a iron that’s left turned on without unplugging it, then that causes a fire.

“But for cases where a household was completely shut off from the supply of electricity like turning off everything electrical such as the lights, then it’s impossible that it’s caused by electrical faults.

“Once something like the lights are turned on, then only then, the electricity flows in but if it’s turned off then the electricity flows to other active lines.

“But in cases that a house's lights and everything electrical are turned off and it causes a fire, then it’s highly unlikely that it's due to an electrical fault.”

According to Faumui, the only time E.P.C are involved in fire incidents is when they are called in to cut an active power line connected to a burning house.

He added that their responsibility is also limited to a specific area at a fire incident and that they are not allowed to trespass the scene of investigations. 

Asked whether he would recommend E.P.C working together with S.F.E.S.A, he said that’s the role of the private sector.

“As I said, in practicing our role, it’s limited to the electric box at the front before it reaches the burning house and we can not exceed further to where the fire takes place as that’s the role of the private sector,” he said.

Meanwhile, most of the recent fire incidents were investigated by S.F.E.S.A and confirmed while some suspected to be caused by electrical faults.