Firefighting Strategies for Solar and Battery Incidents with Captain Richard Birt

The increasing installation of solar panels and battery storage systems in communities across the world has significantly impacted firefighting operations. Traditional strategies and tactics must evolve to address the unique hazards presented by this rapidly expanding technology.

This course provides firefighters with the updated training necessary to safely and effectively mitigate incidents involving:

• Scooters and e-bikes
• Electric vehicles (EVs)
• Large-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS)
• Solar panel farms
• Residential and commercial structure fires involving photovoltaic (PV) systems and energy storage systems (ESS)

The training includes detailed Standard Operating Guidelines (SOGs) to assist departments in developing customized response plans for residential PV/ESS, commercial PV systems, solar farms, and EV-related fires. These SOGs will be provided as editable documents after the course, allowing departments to tailor them to their specific operational needs and response capabilities.

About the Speaker: Captain Richard Birt

Captain Richard Birt retired from Las Vegas Fire & Rescue in 2021 after a distinguished 30-year career in the fire service. A longtime advocate for renewable energy, he founded Solar and Fire Education (S.A.F.E.), a program that provides free training to firefighters around the world. S.A.F.E.'s mission is to teach firefighters and first responders how to safely mitigate structure fires involving photovoltaic (PV) systems and energy storage systems (ESS), while also demonstrating how renewable energy can help communities become more resilient to power outages caused by natural disasters.

For 14 years, Captain Birt and his family lived off-grid in a home powered by a PV and ESS system that he personally designed and installed.

Following Hurricane Maria, Captain Birt led a disaster relief effort in Puerto Rico that resulted in the installation of 19 microgrids at strategically placed fire stations across the island. These systems allowed emergency services to remain operational even after the collapse of Puerto Rico’s electrical grid, helping save countless lives. For his work, he was awarded the Medal of Honor by his fire department.

Captain Birt continues his global disaster relief efforts as a technical advisor for the non-profits The Footprint Project and Empowered by Light.

Richard remains actively involved in global studies and advancements related to lithium-ion battery technology. He brings a wealth of knowledge as a subject matter expert in the field of lithium-ion batteries.