Residential battery storage fire in Werne, Germany prompts precautionary module replacement
EIR-0753Provisional entry. Published from first reports. This entry is rechecked automatically and updated when more sources appear. Next update: 15 September 2026.
A volunteer fire brigade was called to a fire described as suspicious in the basement of a house in Werne, Germany, involving a residential photovoltaic battery storage system. Nobody was present at the scene, and authorities were still establishing the cause at the time of reporting, with early reports pointing to an electrical fault in the home storage system. A fire brigade spokesman identified the unit as an E3/DC S10 home storage system, and E3/DC confirmed its system was involved. The company said a battery module from LG Energy Solution could be seen in photographs taken during the firefighting operation, and that the module was connected to an E3/DC home power plant S10E 6.5 commissioned in 2019. Firefighters reported that the enclosed 6 kWh battery was difficult to extinguish, with flames repeatedly igniting behind the sheet metal panel, and thermal imaging showed the battery self-ignited whenever cooling was interrupted and the internal temperature rose again. The battery was treated continuously with gel extinguishers, the installer was called to site, and in consultation with the installer the brigade isolated the DC connection and dismantled the wall-mounted battery. It was then submerged outside and cooled further in a portable 600 litre container. The brigade was on site for almost four hours with 38 volunteers. Because of fire damage in the basement and damaged power lines, technicians switched the house to the main security box, and the smoke damaged apartment and basement were ventilated after inspection. E3/DC said it would support LG Energy Solution in identifying possible causes and that, regardless of further investigations, it would replace battery modules as a precaution, with 77 customers potentially affected.
The fire brigade reported that the battery repeatedly self-ignited when cooling was interrupted and the internal temperature rose again. Early reports attributed the fire to an electrical fault with the home storage system, but authorities were still determining the cause and the manufacturer investigation was ongoing at the time of reporting. The source notes that Germany has more than 1.5 million installed residential photovoltaic storage systems and that recorded fires are few relative to that number.
- Home battery systems can reignite repeatedly once cooling is interrupted, so responders should plan for extended suppression and continuous cooling rather than a single knockdown.
- Thermal imaging is useful for confirming whether internal cell temperatures are still rising behind enclosures.
- Calling the installer to site and isolating the DC connection before dismantling and submerging a unit gives responders a controlled route to final cooling.
- Where a fault pattern is suspected, suppliers can act on a precautionary module replacement across the affected fleet while root cause work continues.
Published 2026-09-15. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.