I was working as an Electronics Reliability Engineer, and one night my neighbors house was in flames.
The next day, I was asked to investigate the cause.
Potomac Electric Power Company used a #2 Aluminum wire between the outside meter and the breaker box in his basement. I determined that the fire started with the wire overheating causing flammables to ignite.
Aluminum cold flows, has an insulating oxide, and carries much less current than copper of the same diameter.
The Code calls for a 2/0 copper wire for 200 Amps and the #2 Al that PEPCO installed was way undersized.
It turned out that exterior wire up to the meter and the wiring inside the homes are covered by Codes, but the 8 foot service connection wire was not covered.
The situation escalated and we had 275 houses inspected by an electrician and a representative of PEPCO.
We discovered several hot breaker boxes!
We then had a TV debate between a PEPCO engineer and myself about how and when the #2 wire could pass 200 Amps. I easily won the debate.
The story was covered in a 2 column story in the Washington Post, and I was thereafter called Mr. Aluminum Wire.
Several concerned homeowner associations invited me to speak about Aluminum wire.
Finally, PEPCO came to our Cheviot Hills development, and exchanged a 2/0 Copper wire for the #2 Aluminum in all 275 houses.
Aluminum wire was quite a big deal back then.
