It all started after i worked for two months as a sales person in a shop that sells mostly electrical materials and i got some hands on experience with changing a lampholder and making a mini extension with a wooden box, wires and some sockets.
I felt i was a mini pro, but still a pro to say the least. I felt really excited and proud of myself when i made my first extension box and it worked perfectly with no hiccups. This boosted my tinkering spirit. Days went by turing into weeks and then months. Soon my time at the electric shop was over but i still felt i could do the basic.
It was a sunny morning as usual and i remebered the spoilt socket it my room, i then decided that i was going to go out and get a new socket to repair it that evening. I stayed indoors for the entirety of the day reading an intriguing story, and before you know it the cool evening breeze began blowing and i said to myself “it’s time to go out and get the needed materials and begin tinkering”.
So i get dressed in jean short and my favourite black polo, i get to the shop with all it’s different light bulb color alluring in the dark and drawing me in and request a double socket, after i made payments i left the shop and made my way home.
At the time i got home, electricity was out and i was supposed to get fixing but i was delayed by my brother James who was narrating to me about a movie he just started seeing, i got sucked into the story till electricity was back on and i then decided i will no longer tinker that night but the next morning.
After eating dinner, i left my siblings in the sitting room and went up to my room to sleep but instead of sleeping i decided to take a look at the spoilt socket to check if i still remebered my little tinkering electric knowledge. While trying to seperate the wires to know where to place them with my blue tester i mistakenly pulled on the wrong wire that triggered an electric current to the main circuit and the light for the entire house started blinking. My brother quickly switched the change over to neutral, but the damage was already done. I rushed out of my room to see that the main circuit that gave the first floor light was on fire, i was so scared and every one came running trying to put it out.
Prior to this moment i have never used a fire extinguisher before, none of us had any reason to before. I quickly googled how to use it but alas our home fire extinguisher was caked in already. My dad had rushed out to call a proper and experienced electrician while i came up with a not so safe back up plan, using detergent and water and thankfully it was able to put it off before the arrival of the electrician.
This was one terrible experience for me and i vowed never to try doing something like that again. I finally rendered the up part of my house without electricity because of my wrong tinkering.