Local Government Association Annual Fire Conference and Exhibition
On 13th and 14th March, Nobel Fire Systems exhibited at the Local Government Association Annual Fire Conference and Exhibition, held in Gateshead.
The Local Government Association currently has 18,400 members who are all councillors or chief executives who are responsible for council expenditure in many areas including Fire Safety.
We chose this platform to launch our new product, PVStop, as we were aware that fire brigades up and down the country may find our product essential in fighting solar panel fires, which is a risk that so far, has been dealt with via rudimentary methods.
PVStop is the only solution on the global market that safely isolates the power produced by solar panels in all weather conditions. It eliminates the risk of high voltage DC electrocution by acting as a liquid tarpaulin, shutting down the solar PV system in seconds.
We found throughout the event we had very positive feedback from everyone we spoke to, with some very valuable comment and observations.
With regard to those comments, Nobel has produced not only a full colour brochure, but also two information notes setting out the National Operational Guidance (NOG) on PV Cell fires and also a sheet on IRMP strategy. These and other documents are available on our website here.
In terms of next steps, I can confirm that the technology has gone through a number of Fire Rescue Service (FRS) Research and Development systems and testing, prompting the purchase of PVStop already for some fire brigades, in order to undertake a pilot by placing PVStop on Aerial or other special appliances. This low-cost pilot has the double benefit of increasing the frequency of use of these valuable, yet infrequently deployed appliances – as well as a low-cost step to providing a safe and professional system of work for firefighters responding to solar panel fires.
We plan to demonstrate the product at the Fire Service College in the near future at a seminar where we will be engaging industry experts looking at risks from emerging technologies such as PV systems and the march toward home battery systems – I believe the seminar is also being supported by the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC).
Nobel Fire Systems would like to thank everyone who attended the LGA event and our stand, and especially your engagement, which has prompted further R&D from us and the BRE moving forward. I trust, if you decided to carry one away with you, your PVStop umbrella will be a helpful and useful reminder of our unique solution to this electrical/fire risk in the sky.