The Fire in the Walls: How Faulty Wiring Burned a Tbilisi Building
On Tevdore Mghvdeli Street in Tbilisi, fire tore through a four-storey building full of shops and warehouses. The cause was not a cigarette, a candle, or a stove. It was the wiring hidden inside the walls.
What happened
The blaze broke out in a building packed with shops and storage. Investigators attributed it to a fault in the electrical wiring — the kind of hidden failure that gives no warning until smoke is already pouring out. Emergency crews contained it, but the building and the businesses inside paid the price. (Reported by TV Pirveli.) The same story repeats across the country: in Baghdati, in western Georgia, a family home was destroyed by a fire traced to old wiring. (Pravda Georgia.)
Why this is a Georgian problem
Much of Georgia's housing — and its shops and markets — runs on wiring installed decades ago, never designed for today's load of heaters, air-conditioners, water heaters and chargers. Add cheap extension leads, overloaded sockets, and "temporary" repairs that became permanent, and you have the perfect conditions for a fire that starts inside the wall, where no one can see it begin.
How an electrical fire starts — and how to stop it
- 1.Don't overload sockets. One high-power appliance — heater, kettle, air-conditioner — per socket. Never chain extension leads together.
- 2.Watch for the warning signs: warm or discoloured sockets, a burning smell, flickering lights, breakers that trip often, or buzzing outlets.
- 3.Replace damaged cords and cheap adapters. A frayed cable or a melting plug is a fire waiting to happen.
- 4.Have old wiring inspected by a licensed electrician — especially in older buildings.
- 5.Never throw water on an electrical fire. Cut the power if you safely can, and use a suitable extinguisher.
A fire inside a wall gives almost no warning — which is why detection and a way to act fast matter most. A smoke detector buys you minutes; a fire-extinguisher ball or extinguisher near your fuse box or kitchen lets you stop a small electrical fire before it takes the whole building. That is the protection ORDEX is built to give.
Sources: Tbilisi (Tevdore Mghvdeli St) building fire — TV Pirveli; Baghdati home fire — Pravda Georgia.