Solar Panels Growing Hazard for Firefighters
Concerns over electrocution and a lack of roof access hampered firefighting efforts at Dietz & Watson blaze
By Vince Lattanzio
| Tuesday, Sep 3, 2013
NBC10.com
Solar panels created unique challenges for firefighters who battled a massive blaze at the Dietz and Watson distribution warehouse in Delanco, Burlington County, New Jersey. This is video of the aftermath.
Firefighters battling the massive 11-alarm blaze at the Dietz & Watson distribution center in South Jersey faced an unlikely foe during the fight -- solar panels.
A solar array with more than 7,000 photovoltaic panels lined the roof of the nearly 300,000 square-foot refrigeration facility which served as a temporary storage center for the company’s deli meats and cheeses. But the panels, while environmentally sustainable and cost-saving, may have led to the complete destruction of the warehouse.
Fighting the fire under bright blue skies Sunday, Delanco Fire Chief Ron Holt was forced to keep firefighters from attacking the blaze from the roof because of electrocution concerns.
"With all that power and energy up there, I can't jeopardize a guy’s life for that,” said Holt. Those electrocution fears combined with concerns of a collapse forced firefighters to simply spray the building with water and foam from afar.
Ken Willette from the National Fire Protection Association, a nonprofit that develops standards for firefighting, says electrocution is one of the hazards firefighters are increasingly facing fighting blazes at structures where solar panels are deployed.
“Those panels, as long as there’s any kind of light present, whether it’s daylight or it’s electronic lamp light, will generate electricity,” he said.
A 2011 study from the Underwriters Laboratory found solar panels, being individual energy producers, could not be easily de-energized from a single point like other electric sources. Researchers recommended throwing a tarp over the panels to block light, but only if crews could safely get to the area.
“Very often they’re not wired like your home, where you have a master breaker. Even if you turn the breaker off, the panels still generate electricity and you need to cover them and prevent any light from getting into them,” Willette said.
Flooding a roof with solar panels also presents access issues that can stop firefighters from making ventilation holes used to extinguish the fire.
Willette says the issues force firefighters to take a defensive approach to fighting the flames by staying away from the building – rather than going inside and attacking the fire source.
“It definitely impedes the firefighting operation and any time you impede firefighting operation, you slow down suppression efforts,” he said.
From 2010 through 2012, photovoltaic solar panel installations have jumped nearly 300-percent, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). Forecasts show the trend will continue to increase sharply through 2017. The SEIA also says New Jersey has the second highest solar capacity in the United States.
With the continued growth of solar panels and other alternative energies, Willette says code officials, builders and developers need to work with local fire departments to ensure installations are designed with firefighting in mind.
“The new paradigm is firefighters might
encounter building systems they have little or no knowledge of,”
Willette said. “It used to be homes and commercial buildings had
roofs and walls and heating and ventilation systems that the fire
service was used to dealing with…modern technology, both in building
construction and these other alternative energy systems, have
changed that.”
Contact Vince Lattanzio at 610.668.5532, vince.lattanzio@nbcuni.com or follow @VinceLattanzio on Twitter.
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