Dive Summary:
- Rooftop solar panels aren't making firefighters' jobs any easier, according to John Drengenberg, consumer safety director for Underwriters Laboratories, who says the panels pose a danger to firefighters.
- Solar panels get in the way of rooftop access and can give firefighters electrical shocks, even if they come with shutoffs.
- Ken Willette, manager of the public fire protection division at the National Fire Protection Association, notes, "It's an emerging challenge. We're seeing more of these panels installed in places that we have not seen them before."
From the article:
In Delanco, New Jersey, volunteer fire crews rushed to the burning meat warehouse on Sunday and discovered the roof was covered in solar panels, forcing firefighters to change tactics. It took 29 hours to put out the flames at the Dietz & Watson warehouse, which was left gutted and smoldering in ruins.
"Do I think we'd have had a different outcome if we could get on the roof? Sure," Delanco Deputy Fire Chief Robert Hubler said.