CTIF Norway held a national webinar about fires in solar installations and lithium-ion batteries

Kurt T. Rusås, Bergen Fire Department, systematically guided listeners through various battery fires and solar installation fires, explaining in simple terms what poses serious risks and what is less hazardous in the operations. 

Kurt T. Rusås from Bergen Fire Department systematically guided Norwegian fire departments from all around the country through various types of battery fires. 

In his two hour lectures, he explained what part of fire operations pose the more serious risks and what is less hazardous, while making solar technology simple and practical. 

He also provided an overview of how battery fires differ from other types of fires and may even debunk some myths about this specific type of fire.

Professional Webinar – Risk Assessment and Management of Fires in Solar Panel Installations and Battery Systems

• Part One covered the structure of a solar power system and its key components, what typically causes fires in such systems, and what firefighters should focus on when responding to fires in buildings with solar panels.

• Part Two focused on how to extinguish fires in such systems: identifying dangers, what actions can be taken, and what should be avoided.

• Conclusion: Discussion around components connected to solar systems, including lithium-ion batteries.

The YouTube video below covers several aspects of what the Norwegian lecture concerning the solar panel topics covered. Chose subtitles if you don´t speak Norwegian. 

Sharing knowledge and lessons learned though webinars and seminars is the back bone of CTIF Norway 

The webinar was part of the bi-yearly activities of the CTIF National Committee of Norway. 

CTIF Norway is unique in CTIF in the sense that the National Norwegian CTIF Committee is completely independent from the government or any government agency. The Norwegian fire authority, DSB, is an active member of CTIF Norway, however the important part is that  the majority of the funding of the Norwegian activities comes from paying members. 

CTIF Norway has members throughout Norway who pay approximately €100 (1200 NOK) per year for their membership. The members are primarily municipal fire services, including several volunteer brigades, and also organizations, as well as airports. 

Membership funded activities makes the National CTIF Committee of CTIF Norway economically independant

The funding from paying members of CYTIF Norway makes the national CTIF´s activities more or less independent from government financial contributions and this creates a strong identity for the national CTIF committee.

Among CTIF Norways products, seminars have  been the most important activity and a back bone of the member exchange.

During the seminars, firefighters share very openly what went went well and what they have learned from mistakes, during operations from a wide range of topics. During recent years, lessons learned forest fires has been a strong focus. 

Since 2019, the seminars have been held online, and the pandemic is only one of the reasons for this:

 "We may return to physical seminars again in the near future, but since we started online webinars we have discovered members who normally would not be able to attend would attend the online event. There is an economic aspect to this which is important for our members. The webinar format allows for more equality since not everyone can afford to travel. Most likely, in the future, we will have at least one online webinar per year and perhaps one physical", says Ole Hansen, Chair of CTIF Norway .