Sub-Tafsar Yosef Daklo, head of the collection and investigations division of the National Authority for Fire and Rescue, former commander of the elite 'Lahva' unit of the fire and rescue system, is a cold-hearted man.
He has the look of an army officer and it is not easy to get him out of his way, but when he encounters such a serious and dangerous pattern of conduct - he cannot remain indifferent and then he storms out
. electricity," he says, "every year our fire investigators arrive at hundreds of burned apartments, which were severely damaged as a result of electrical work."
He points his sights at renovation contractors who carry out work without any certification in electricity, and binds them together with apartment owners who prefer to save a few shekels, At the expense of the safety of the tenants. The lawlessness is high and dangerous: "Sometimes the owner of the property himself performs the works in order to save expenses," he adds.
extremely upset.
Sub-Tafsar Yosef Daklo/Fire and Rescue
The timing of the conversation we had with him is no accident: the Iron Swords War damaged the cash flow of many households in Israel and forced most of us to cut back on expenses.
The interest rate that has soared in the last two years has also eroded the yield of apartment owners who wish to save on maintenance expenses.
Bottom line - it is evident that there is an increase in the scope of the phenomenon and the consumer bodies are also warning about it.
"It is a clear and immediate danger that the scope is increasing. Extremely worrying," states attorney Hadas Jacobson - CEO of the new consumer association.
"The threat and danger are not theoretical," adds sub-tafser Deklo.
From the data of the National Fire and Rescue Authority, which are published in Vala Zaf for the first time, it appears that during the last two years there has been a 14% increase in the number of fires classified as 'electrical fires'.
According to the data, their number increased from 1,185 two years ago, to 1,355 in 2023. The processing of the data shows that during the said period, no less than 866 fires broke out due to a malfunction in the electrical panel.
The data shows that it is about defective electrical systems, creating a load on the system, poor maintenance.
"Someone came across a case here where a renovation contractor performed electrical work despite not having a license," reads a post in the National Electricians Forum Facebook group.
Within minutes, the bush was electrified "As long as there is no enforcement, the neighborhood will continue," wrote an electrician.
"It's a known phenomenon, it's a shame that the authorities don't deal with the crime and it's criminal in my opinion."
The third wrote: "Hahahaha, is there one renovation contractor in Israel who does not perform electrical work? Saves the cost of the electrician. Period."
The fire and rescue investigation department points out that the phenomenon is much more common in rented apartments in residential buildings of up to four stories, some of which are known to us as "train" buildings, in which the electrical cabinets are made of wood, the electrical panels are old, not maintained and not adapted to the electricity consumption of energy-intensive devices and consumers in the new world .
The family of Shani Levy is appealing the sentence of the electrician who was responsible for her death/Shlomi Gabai
The extent of the phenomenon shows that those apartment owners or renovation contractors who are involved in this do not fear punishment or are not afraid of being caught.
Section 11 of the Electricity Law states that performing electrical work without a license is punishable by one year in prison or a fine of approximately NIS 20,000.
At the same time, in the event that damage is caused under such circumstances, the legislation is more severe: "There is an offense in the Penal Code of causing death by negligence, which is punishable by up to three years in prison, and there is also a past offense of causing injury by negligence, which is punishable by up to two years, and even a new offense of reckless death, which may reach a penalty of Up to 12 years in prison," notes attorney Ronan Vardi, one of Israel's top experts in the field of safety law (criminal and administrative) and the legal liability of professionals, property owners, managers, etc.
At the same time, about a year ago, a sentence was handed down that left many speechless: Shani Levy was electrocuted to death in the shower five years ago, less than a week after she got married. Levy and her partner, Dani Berdichevsky, complained several times about electrical problems in their apartment, and called an electrician who tried to take care of the problem - a truck driver by trade who served as a maintenance man in the apartment on behalf of the apartment's landlord. In January 2023, he was convicted of causing death by negligence, after it was proven that he disconnected the depreciation relay in the apartment and caused electrocution. The punishment - nine months of actual imprisonment to be served by way of community service. The prosecutor's office and the public were outraged, and in September of last year - his sentence was changed to ten months of actual imprisonment. "The court He gave great weight to the defendant's personal circumstances, his medical condition and his mental state following the incident," notes Attorney Vardi.
Criminal punishment is not the only risk that a renovator or property owner assumes, in case of damage caused there is also the tortious aspect - the ruling and the legislation together have sharpened the concrete conceptual responsibility of property owners and professionals in the field of construction and electricity," adds Attorney Vardi.
As evidence, the court ordered the 'electrician' to pay compensation in the amount of one million shekels, which will be transferred to Shani Levy's heirs.
The owner of the apartment and his insurer were also ordered to pay half a million shekels.
The property owner's liability is created by virtue of the tort ordinance: "He has vicarious liability in four cases: if he was negligent in choosing the contractor, if he interfered with the professional's work in a way that caused the damage. He allowed or approved any action that caused the damage. Carrying out an illegal activity (for example, expanding a building without Building permit)".
Vicarious liability for the contractor.
Adv. Verdi/courtesy of those photographed
The Israeli Consumer Association draws the public's attention to another risk - the installation of electrical products by those who are not authorized to do so: "Some manufacturers and importers allow installation by the consumer and on the condition that the installation be performed by a qualified electrician. When the person performing the installation is not qualified, any malfunction in the product will not be covered by the warranty, and the company will be able to claim that the source of the malfunction was the installation by an inappropriate professional."
Along with this dangerous phenomenon, reality shows that even qualified electricians are often negligent, which causes damages and injuries.
The scope of this problem, its seriousness and the risk inherent in it, led the Ministry of Labor to recently establish the Enforcement and Investigations Unit, which provides an enforcement response to public complaints against professionals whose profession is regulated by the department and who violated one or more of the conditions of registration or licensing and committed disciplinary offenses.
Michal Boganim - Director of the Senior Division for the Regulation of Occupations at the Ministry of Labor, sees her work as a life-saving mission: "We established the Enforcement and Investigations Unit to protect citizens from professional negligence by licensed professionals or from performing actions contrary to the terms of the license. The division's investigators were authorized to handle complaints in all regulated professions ( Electricians, engineers and architects, engineers and technicians, etc.) According to her, "Effective and effective enforcement is divided into three phases: the phase of information to the public and authorized dealers, the phase of prevention and ultimately the phase of punishment aimed at stopping the hazard or crime.
We have made all the licenses digital so that the person ordering the service can very easily check if the professional is indeed licensed."
Boganim urges the public that before inviting a professional whose work requires regulation and a license, one must make sure that he appears in the relevant database. In addition, she notes that in the event that someone comes across a A licensed professional who was negligent and violated the provisions of the law? There is no reason to hesitate but to report it. The recommendation to check the very training of the electrician is also relevant to apartment renters: "Let them not be ashamed, but ask the electrician who comes to the apartment for his details and check it in the database."
Enforcement in three stages.
Michal Boganim/Ministry of Labor barges
The Fire and Rescue Authority adds that these days, they are examining the possibility of promoting regulation on the subject, which would require periodic inspections of electrical systems in rented apartments.
"In developed countries with a better fire prevention culture, for example in the UK, apartment renters are required to periodically check the electricity."
In the meantime, they provide some iron advice: installing a smoke detector in the house is a life saver and it allows residents to detect a flammable flare-up earlier and escape faster from the burning house.
Also, in any case where the circuit breaker trips repeatedly, and you smell smoke or see a build-up of soot around an electrical accessory, these are significant warning signs.
You should immediately stop using the device and call a qualified electrician.
Take care now and avoid disaster.
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