Solar panel fire destroys roof of Ealing Council house in Greenford

On 9 August 2023 a fire broke out in the loft of a council house on Ferrymead Avenue in Greenford, west London, owned by Ealing Council. Smoke was reported to have accumulated in the loft during the day before the blaze took hold. A teenage occupant was alone in the house when the smoke alarm sounded and left the property with the help of neighbours. London Fire Brigade attended, confirmed the blaze involved a solar panel and said it was believed to be accidental. Firefighters used a liquid polymer coating called PVStop to de-energise and isolate solar panels on ten neighbouring properties. The roof of the affected house collapsed, leaving it open to the elements, and the building was declared too unstable for the family to return for their possessions. The family, who had lived there for more than 20 years, were placed in temporary bed and breakfast and hotel accommodation. No injuries were reported and a family pet was recovered unharmed.

The solar panels were installed in 2013, removed for roof repairs and reinstalled a couple of years before the fire, according to the occupant. London Fire Brigade described the cause as accidental, and Ealing Council said it had not yet received the formal fire report at the time of reporting. No further technical cause was reported.

1. Solar installations that are removed and reinstalled during roof works should be re-inspected and recommissioned by a qualified installer before re-energisation.
2. Repeated smoke alarm activation in a property with rooftop solar should be treated as a possible system fault rather than assumed to come from a neighbouring source.
3. Fire services attending solar-related fires may need to check and de-energise neighbouring installations, as seen here with the precautionary isolation of ten nearby systems using a light-blocking coating.

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