A rental scare has pushed old power boxes into the spotlight as fire fighters urge residents to contact licensed tradesmen if problems arise.
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Experts have cautioned Wagga residents, who live in older homes, to be mindful of older switchboards which could require rewiring.
A resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said late Wednesday evening he woke up after hearing a bang outside and found the power box was on fire.
"There were three bangs and I went outside and the electrical board had caught fire so we called triple zero," he said.
"In the meantime, I assessed the situation and suppressed the fire."
The tenant said problems with the electrical board first arose two months ago when power was lost to 90 per cent of the home's power points.
"The electrician explained to me that it was a very old box, about 80 years old, and was very dangerous," he said.
"I was instructed not to touch it and he would get onto the real estate because it needs replacing quickly.
"Our real estate and landlord are trying to get it replaced, but being an old box that contains asbestos there has been a bit of dramas with getting the right people out to remove it safely.
"So, at the moment we're left without power," the tenant said.
Turvey Park Fire and Rescue station officer Justin Bentley said the fire was extinguished before the crew arrived.
"If residents feel an electrical fire is safe enough to put out, then we encourage them to extinguish the fire safely and appropriately," Mr Bentley said.
"Electrical boards only become a problem when they are damaged: if there is a fault or they have been tampered with.
"Residents must contact an electrician if there are problems; that is the only advice, it must be installed by a licensed electrician."
Wagga RIC Electrics' managing director Andrew Dwyer said many old power boards are made out of wiring that deteriorates.
"We probably get called out 10 or 20 times a week in relation to power switchboards," Mr Dwyer said.
"Most of the old boards are made of a Vulcanised India Rubber cable cotton material that is getting fragile these days and if you are touching it, it's hard to work with.
"A lot of the time, these need replacing but you can get around that by putting safety switches on circuits, but it depends on the severity."
Mr Dwyer said many of these older switchboards contain asbestos.
"Most of the panels of these older boards are made of asbestos and our policy at RIC Electrics' is to remove them, if the customer agrees to that," he said. "We've definitely had jobs this year relating to old power boards."
