Hidden dangers of solar panels

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[matt04]

Lots of people have installed solar panels into their homes and businesses in an effort to help the environment and save some money, but the 22News I-Team has discovered solar panels could be dangerous in an emergency.

More and more families and businesses in western Mass. are using the sun to go green, installing solar panels to generate power, but as these become more common in western Mass., fire departments are faced with new challenges.

“There certainly have been examples with power being backfed into the site that have killed firefighters in adjacent states,” said Northampton Fire Chief Brian Duggan.

The solar panels, while a growing trend, have proven to be problematic in an emergency. An NBC television station in Philadephia captured this video of a distribution center covered in solar panels. The firefighters in this case were forced to stop fighting the fire due to electrocution concerns on a bright sunny day.

Northampton Fire Chief Brian Duggan told the I-Team electrocution is not their only concern, cutting through the roof for ventilation would also take a lot longer.

“As an example in Easthampton there was a ventilation hole cut in a roof, it took about 25 minutes to do it, this would elongate that time by approximately double,” he said.

It’s a situation both Northampton and Springfield fire departments have been faced with. Gregory Garrison, the President of Northeast Solar agreed to talk to the I-Team about the issue. He says firefighters just have to pull the meter when they get there. That allows them to cut the power.

[matt04]

Thanks.