A fire in an Iklin garage could have been caused by faulty wiring or overloaded electrical circuitry, Enemalta Corporation lawyers argued today.
The corporation is contesting a claim for compensation by a father and son who say their mechanic's workshop garage was gutted by a fire sparked off by a faulty electricity meter.
Augustine Bonnici, 62, and his son Roderick, 32, are seeking €26,000 in damages and have filed an official letter before the courts against Enemalta Corporation, the Police Commissioner, the Attorney General, the Registrar of the Criminal court and the Magistrates' courts, the Justice Minister and ARMS Ltd.
READ: Mechanics blame electricity meter for garage fire
The two have claimed that a court expert had identified a faulty electricity meter as having caused the fire which eventually destroyed the garage, including all the tools and machinery stored within it.
In its reply, Enemalta lawyers pointed out that a court inquiry into the incident was still ongoing and that expert reports were yet to be submitted. Therefore no conclusive results could be drawn at this stage.
Moreover, although the meter had been installed since 2012, no faults had ever been reported to the corporation. All electricity meters are subjected to rigorous testing prior to installation making it highly improbable for the fire to have been sparked off by such a device, the company argued.
Enemalta further observed that electrical fires are generally caused by a system overload or faulty wiring and that the meter only serves to gauge electricity consumption.
Tests were still ongoing to determine whether the wiring in the garage had been installed in line with the legal requisites, the corporation said. Moreover, checks were still being carried out to assess whether the registered consumption tallied with the actual use of the garage as a mechanical workshop.
For these reasons, Enemalta rebutted the claims carried by the plaintiffs in their official letter and reserved the right to take legal action as necessary.
Lawyer Stefano Filletti filed the reply.