ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade Alternative Energy New Jersey Warehouse Fire 9-1-13 Caused by PV?

It will be interesting to see what the final determination of a cause for this fire is.

I posted a local (to me) fire that involved solar panels here ("Question") in Alt. Energy.

Question??? What was the final cause of that fire?

Laast word was possibility of condensation build-up in combiner box. Possible bad sealing from interior to exterior within raceway. Not ruled as definitive cause.

Update:
The remaining rancid, rotten meat and other food products clean up is scheduled to be completed today 9/25/13

There has been no cause announced to date.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/10/02/firefighters-alarmed-by-dangers-posed-by-rooftop-solar-panels/

There is video of both fires on You Tube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeHxHTi1TJ4
Note solar panels covering most of the roof

I can say that all the large comm solar installs in the Twp I work in do not cover antwhere near 100% of the roof.

Clear 'aisles' for lack of a better description are required, and addressed during the plan review process.

Yes, panels do present various issues for firefighters. We request that all comm jobs have a facility walk-thru with the firefighters, both officers and regular firefighters. Tours are arranged via the solar contractors, and the FD.

I would be curious as to the cause of the California resi fire that is in one video.

Seams like a connector like this http://www.andersonpower.com/products/multipole-sb.html mounted on the side of each panel would isolate the panel from the house. Equipped with a handle (They make one for that connector) that could be opened with a Pike pole (a firefighters tool use to pull ceilings) the fire fighter could operate from a distance and disconnect all the panels from the system. Good for residential aps but may be impracticable for commercial aps. I like the carport mounted panels used on some commercial locations. Gets them off the roof, easy to isolate and does not interfere with firefighting or re-roofing.

In watching the home fire video, you can see the roof venting was done on the side of the roof without the panels.

A UL video I watched recommends that solar panels can be covered to de-energize the system during a fire.

Those fire fighters did not cover the panels they were working near. I can't imagine the fire department taking the time cover panels or even start disconnecting a system when they arrive at a fully engulfed fire situation. They need to concentrate on putting out the fire as trained, not spend valuable time trying to disconnect a solar system.