Solar Safety for Firefighters

Online, March 22, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Today, the non-profit association, Independent Electrical Contractors-Rocky Mountain (IECRM) launched a very important piece of the training puzzle for the solar photovoltaic (PV) industry: how to make sure that firefighters stay safe on a fire call with a solar electric system. IECRM rolled out a Solar PV Safety for Firefighters course at the North Washington Fire District in Thornton this morning. The course was taught by PV expert, Andrew Truitt of Truitt Renewable Energy Consulting.

Solar PV systems on homes and businesses act like mini-power generating stations and operate via Direct Current (DC), which poses a unique set of challenges over electricity found in standard homes and businesses that have Alternating Current (AC) service from the electric utility. DC creates potential safety risks to fire fighters that AC typically does not have. With the dramatic increase of adoption of solar electric systems within the state of Colorado over the past few years and well into the future, emergency responders need to be educated on these unique concerns in order to ensure safety on fire calls.

"The solar overview provided us with a basic understanding on how the systems operate," said North Washington Fire District Battalion Chief Stuart Sunderland, "and it provided us with the general information and safety concerns presented will definitely make us stop and think the next time we respond to a call to a building with a solar system." IECRM will be reaching out to other fire districts in the metro to make them aware of the cautions of PV systems and what their fire fighters should know about handling them.

IECRM is a 170-member strong non-profit association and Colorado's largest electrical apprentice training school, educating hundreds of electrical and renewable energy professionals each year. For more information, www.IECRM.org