IREC and partners - the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) and National Association of State Fire Marshals (NASFM) - launched the first of 30 in-person training opportunities for firefighters to become solar smarter, so they are confident making swift, safe decisions in an emergency situation where solar technology is present.

Recently, IREC's Laure-Jeanne Davignon and Fire Captain Matthew Paiss, San Jose FD (IAFF Local 230) spoke with Solar Wakeup's Frank Andorka about Solar PV Safety for Fire Fighters for the United States of Solar podcast series.

"We don't want fire fighters' first introduction to solar PV to be in an emergency situation," says Laure-Jeanne Davignon, IREC's director of workforce and credentialing. IREC's new, cutting edge, online training course for fire fighters is a self-paced, video-based training that offers real-world simulations to keep fire fighters safe and confident around solar PV systems. Some 475 users have begun the training since its June launch.