[RE-wrenches] Fire Department Training

[Dan Fink]

Hi David --

Myself and Capt. Matt Paiss of the San Jose Fire Dept. have both been 
working on this topic extensively.

I have developed a training curriculum for PV installers on how to 
educate your local fire department, which includes a powerpoint lecture, 
instructor's guide, and class handouts. I'll be giving 2 workshops about 
this at the upcoming AEE Solar dealers conference in Arizona next month, 
if you're going to be there. If not, contact me off-list for more 
information about purchasing this curriculum (it's on CD).

Capt. Paiss wrote an article on the topic for Home Power Magazine last 
year, I wrote the sidebar for wildland firefighters. I wrote a short 
article recently for FireRescue1.com, and they also Capt. Paiss' video 
on the topic. It's here:
http://www.firerescue1.com/fire-attack/articles/594656-Solar-Safety-for-Firefighters-The-Myths-and-the-Facts/
None of these are comprehensive, but they do give a good introduction.

The main hazards of SHW are fragile collectors on roofs that won't 
support weight or ladders, and roof access pathways. The pop-offs in 
your system should handle any direct flame impingement. With very old 
systems (Jimmy Carter era) that are no longer in operation, all bets are 
off--stuck pop-offs, and the possibility of strange liquids used for 
heat exchange. In at least one case, an explosion occurred due to an 
unapproved heat exchange liquid that got stale and out-gassed flammable 
VOCs.

DAN FINK
Renewable Energy Consultant
danfink at buckville.com



David Palumbo wrote:
> I’ve been tasked with helping put together a training seminar on safely 
> dealing with PV systems during firefighting for our local volunteer fire 
> department here. I recall wrenches talking about publications that had 
> articles on this subject. I’d appreciate a link to these sources.
> 
>  
> 
> Also, I’m curious if there are any concerns with solar thermal systems 
> during house fires? Should fire departments take any extra precautions 
> when responding to fires at homes with SHW collectors  during a sunny 
> afternoon?
> 
>  
> 
> /David Palumbo/
> 
> /President, Independent Power LLC/
> 
> /462 Solar Way Drive, Hyde Park, VT 05655/
> 
> NABCEP Certified
> 
> /www.independentpowerllc.com <http://www.independentpowerllc.com>  /
> 
> /(802) 888-7194/
> 
>  
> 
> 
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