Updated: Jul 27, 2015 - 7:14 PM

BOSTON (MyFoxBoston.com) - More and more people are taking advantage of renewable energy powered by the sun and placing solar panels on their homes.

But during an emergency the dangers of solar panels are a growing concern to firefighters trying to save you.

“If you’re doing it for the first time it’s kind of an ‘oh what do I do now,’” Marlborough Fire Chief Geoffrey Herald said.

Firefighters in Marlborough recently responded to a fire in a home with panels. Chief Herald said that while the solar panels did not cause the fire, they can make fighting the fire a real challenge.

“Seeing that solar array does give us pause and make us aware of a couple other things we have to be aware of. In this particular case just shutting down the units was a different issue for us because we hadn’t seen these particular panels,” herald said. “Obviously the shock factor, the potential for injury for our firefighters is still there even though the power is shut off from the street.”

In direct sunlight solar panels can generate between anywhere between 200 and 600 volts of electricity. Because they generate electricity any time there is light they never power off.

“At 2 a.m. when we’re climbing up on the roof the sun is not shining, but when we turn our flood lights on the panel can still be generating power,” Herald said.

Ken Willette of the National Fire Protection Association in Quincy says solar panel training for firefighters is needed.

“There is not a lot of organized training that’s taking place and getting into every single firehouse across the county, that’s probably one of the gaps that we have right now,” he said.

Firefighters say with no national training standards in place, combating a house fire with rooftop solar panels is challenging, and can be very dangerous.