The vocational building trades class plans to continue working on the electrical for its house this week. Although this includes adding electricity for the lights, switches and outlets, the class plans to add audio-video, cable and phone wiring. The class will also work on an automated package that controls all of the lights from a central location or remote control.

John Coghlan, vocational building trades instructor, said even though electricity is imperative to a house, actually working on electrical allows students to think about it in a different light.

“You turn on your light in your bedroom when you go in and do your homework, but have you ever thought about, ‘Well, how does electricity get into that point?’ So I think it makes a lot of connections for the students, just as far as stuff that they’ve taken for granted for a long time,” Coghlan said.

Cory Noe, vocational building trades student and senior, said he had looked forward to working on electrical the most, and he plans to apply his new skills in the future, if necessary.

“(Electrical is) something that we can still handle, that we don’t need a professional to do. But it’s something that can still, if you mess up, the house can still burn down. Somebody could potentially be harmed with it, whether it be us still working in the house or the future homeowner. It could cause issues, obviously. Electrical issues equals fire,” Noe said.

According to Coghlan and Noe, once the class finishes electrical, the city of Westfield will give the house a rough-in inspection. This will evaluate the house’s framing, windows and mechanicals, which include electrical. By Rochelle Brual