Rooftop solar panels could cause problems for firefighters

PHOENIX — Rooftop solar panels could prevent firefighters from gaining necessary access when battling a home fire, officials said.

“Solar panels are, of course, placed on roofs and that can cause an obstacle for our firefighters,” Mesa Fire Deputy Chief Forrest Smith said.

The rooftop panels make it harder for firefighters to drill or cut vent holes that help lower air temperatures inside a burning home and allow hot gases and smoke to escape.

Smith said solar panels are also an electrocution hazard and could be tough to identify.

“When we’re doing our operations on a roof, we have to assume that anything we’re doing around electricity is live,” he said. “These solar panels, of course, feed electricity to the house.

“Panels can come in all shapes and sizes and they do have panels now that look like tiles.”

Training is essential, too.

“The onus … is on us, as well, to recognize the panels. There’s firefighting techniques we have in place that, in some cases, don’t even require us to go on the roof to ventilate.”

Despite the obstacle solar panels could pose, Smith said his agency is not urging people to stay away from solar.

However, if you do have panels on your roof and there’s a fire, it’s a good idea to notify the fire department and the firefighters who come to your home.

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