FOCUS
See the light
Kirk Rosenhan warns of the potential hazards and risks to firefighters tackling solar panel and power storage fires
through the panels, and the gathered heat was stored in various types of thermal energy devices and distributed. As far back as 1839, Alexandre- Edmond Becquerel observed that exposure to light would generate an electrical charge in some materials. However, this was not usable until 1873,
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when Willoughby Smith found that the element selenium would be of interest. Then in 1876 and 1881, others developed what was to be a commercially viable solar panel. Finally in 1939, Russell Ohi developed the type of solar cell used today. The efficiency of the cells has increased and the costs have become very much lower. In the USA, it is estimated that there are 2 million solar installations, with many more millions throughout the world. The capacity of these installations is in the gigawatt range and is growing daily. This growth is due to both economic and political policies, as society looks to a ‘greener’ life. In Germany, there are more than 1.4 million solar installations, while Japan has reported some 2.4 million homes with rooftop solar.
42 OCTOBER 2019
www.frmjournal.com
OLAR PANELS have been around for years. Initially, they were used to gather sunlight in order to heat a fl uid that was circulated
Firefi ghters beware!
These panels may be mounted on the roofs of buildings or in a standalone confi guration. In any case, they pose a significant hazard to fi refi ghters and others. Slips and falls are an obvious possibility, due to the geometry and structure of the systems. Even laying a roof ladder on cells is a no-no, plus extra care is advised with roof ladder hooks, which often are somewhat out of sight to fi refi ghters, who don’t realise they are there. Some jurisdictions have codes that require a
path around the cell assemblies, and cutting a hole in even a ‘bare’ area may cut into electrical wiring. In many cases, however, there are no codes, standards, signage, or considerations for fi refi ghting operations. In addition, such installations are known for harbouring insect populations, such as wasps and bees, or even squirrels, which calls for signifi cant pre fi re planning and training to ensure safety and minimal damage. A number of considerations apply when becoming involved in a fire and/or rescue operation involving solar cells. First of all, the roof mounted ones are sometimes hard to get to, but in any event they cannot be walked on
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