Safety concerns over solar panels were raised a year before massive Boyle Heights fire

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Set us as preferred A year before a massive fire at a Boyle Heights cold storage building sent polluted smoke into surrounding communities, the operator of the facility came to Los Angeles City Hall with a request.Lineage asked about removing an emergency shutdown switch from the solar panels on the roof of the structure, according to the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety.A spokesperson for Lineage said that the company was inquiring about what it described as a safer alternative to rapid shutdown devices.Though intended to protect firefighters from shock, some shutdown devices have also been linked to increased fire risk.

Ultimately, the company did not receive any variances or exemptions as a result of its efforts, the spokesperson said.Neither Lineage nor the city would provide any details about what kind of shutdown system was in place at the time of the fire.Altus Power, which owns the solar panels, declined to specify, citing the ongoing investigation into the fire.But the solar panels have become a focus of the fire.

According to Lineage, company officials believe the fire began while third-party subcontractors were testing the rooftop solar array at the nearly 500,000-square-foot warehouse.The Los Angeles Fire Department has not announced a cause for the blaze.

California City officials and residents met with Lineage executives after a devastating fire affected Boyle Heights.Officials said the company has provided few answers.The state code requires that rooftop solar arrays have rapid shutdown systems that quickly reduce the voltage to a level that makes it safe for first responders to access a roof in an emergency.

The systems are typically activated by a switch, which communicates with rapid shutdown devices to reduce the voltage to the panels, said Ryan Mayfield, chief engineer and founder of Mayfiel...