.
9/2/13,
“Solar Panels Growing Hazard for Firefighters,” nbcphiladelphia.com, by
Vince Lattanzi
“Concerns over electrocution and a lack of roof access hampered firefighting efforts at Dietz & Watson blaze.”
A solar array with more than 7,000 photovoltaic panels lined the roof of the nearly 300,000 square-foot refrigeration facility which served as a temporary storage center for the company’s deli meats and cheeses.
But the panels, while environmentally sustainable and cost-saving,
may have led to the complete destruction of the warehouse.
Ken Willette from the National Fire Protection Association, a nonprofit that develops standards for firefighting, says
electrocution is one of the hazards firefighters are increasingly
facing fighting blazes at structures where solar panels are deployed.
“Very often they’re not wired like your home, where you have a master breaker. Even if you turn the breaker off, the panels still generate electricity and you need to cover them and prevent any light from getting into them,” Willette said.
Flooding a roof
with solar panels also presents access issues that can stop firefighters
from making ventilation holes used to extinguish the fire.
Willette says the issues force firefighters to take a
defensive approach to fighting the flames by staying away from the
building – rather than going inside and attacking the fire source.
From 2010 through 2012, photovoltaic solar panel
installations have jumped nearly 300-percent, according to the Solar
Energy Industries Association (SEIA). Forecasts show the trend will continue to increase sharply through 2017.
The SEIA also says
New Jersey has the second highest solar capacity in the United States.
With the continued growth of solar panels and other
alternative energies, Willette says code officials, builders and
developers need to work with local fire departments to ensure
installations are designed with firefighting in mind.
“The new paradigm is firefighters might encounter building systems they have little or no knowledge of,”
Willette said. “It used to be homes and commercial buildings had roofs
and walls and heating and ventilation systems that the fire service was
used to dealing with…modern technology, both in building construction
and these other alternative energy systems, have changed that.””
image, Owen Brennan, nbc10.com
======================================
9/3/13,
“11-Alarm Fire Guts Dietz & Watson Warehouse,” nbcphiladelphia.com, by
Kelly Bayliss,
Danielle Johnson and
Dan Stamm
“Fear of electrocution, collapse forced fire chief to pull back crews.”
The fire broke out at the Dietz & Watson cold storage facility on Cooperstown Road in Delanco, Burlington County, N.J. around 1:30 p.m. Sunday and
caused the roof, lined with thousands of solar panels, to collapse within hours.
Thick, black smoke could be seen billowing from the facility miles away.
“It’s just an intense fire,” said Delanco Fire Chief
Ron Holt. “It’s going to take some time, and we don’t know what it’s
going to do.”
By Monday morning, the blaze continued to burn as
water issues, the threat of electrocution and other factors hindered
firefighting efforts. Crews began to arrive before 9 a.m. While fire
officials were finally able to contain the blaze early Monday evening,
they also say it will likely continue to smolder for the next few days.
SOLAR PANELS POSE HAZARD
“With all that power and energy up there, I can’t jeopardize a guy’s life for that,” said Holt.
In 2010, the company installed more than 7,000 solar power modules, which officials claimed would reduce the facility’s energy use by nearly 20 percent. Buildings with solar power systems “
can present a variety of significant hazards” for firefighters including poor air quality and electrocution, according to the
National Fire Protection Association.
The Burlington County hazmat team was called to the scene to test the air quality and concluded that there is no hazard at this time. However, residents received a reverse 911 message from the Beverly and Edgewater Park Joint Office of Emergency Management which warned them to stay inside their homes, close their windows and avoid breathing in the smoke.
“Unless you’re standing right there and breathing,
it’s dissipating before it hits ground,” said Chief Holt. “That’s why we
called the health department and hazmat team…
(If they say close your window) that’s their expertise, that’s what I go with.”
No residents were evacuated.
Two firefighters suffered minor injuries including Chief Holt who broke his foot.
“If the building collapses, it collapses…it can be replaced. I’m not sending a man in to lose a life,” said Holt.
DRAINING THE PUMPS
Trucked-in water is being dumped into large temporary pools, which are then connected to hoses and sent spraying on the building.
The Camden Fire Boat crew also responded to the scene to help stretch a water pipeline from the Rancocas Creek.
New Jersey American Water asked customers in Edgewater Park, Beverley, and Delanco to limit their water usage as crews battle the blaze.
“That’s major because (without water) you are not putting the fire out,” said Holt.
ONLY MINOR INJURIES
The Delanco Riverside Bridge was closed around 7 p.m. Officials did not indicate when it would reopen.
Sandy Iwanicki, who lives near the warehouse, said
she initially thought a plane had crashed. “It looked to me like the
kind of scene you would see if a plane crashed
the black smoke was immense it was amazing,” said Iwanicki.
Dietz & Watson officials released a statement on
their website shortly after the blaze....
Dietz & Watson employs more than 130 workers at the facility….
Officials say the facility was not operating Sunday.
Two security guards were working outside the building. The company,
founded in 1939, opened the center in 2007. It is their main
distribution center. They also have processing facilities in
Philadelphia, Baltimore and Corfu, New York.
.
