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Solar PVUnited KingdomEIR-1532

Roof-space fire involving a solar inverter at a house in Ferndown

Mar 2023Published 28 Sept 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor

SignificantThermal / fireProvisional
Estimated damageEstimated by the register's adjusterHow? Know the real figure?
Figure hidden: shown to subscribersMedium confidence
out of service for about •• daysShown in the record →Full estimate
From the recordFailed part hidden
Where
property on Westwood Avenue in Ferndown
What
roof-space fire involving solar inverter
Injuries
None reported
Response
firefighters from Ferndown, Redhill Park, Poole and Ringwood extinguished fire
Cause
Not reported

What happened

On 27 March 2023, on-call firefighters from Ferndown and wholetime firefighters from Redhill Park attended a fire at a property on Westwood Avenue in Ferndown. On arrival the property was well alight, and two further fire engines were requested from Poole and Ringwood. The fire in the roof space involved the inverter for the property's rooftop solar panels. Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus extinguished it with a hose reel jet and a main line. No injuries were reported. A building control officer from Dorset Council was requested to inspect the integrity of the roof structure. The cause of the fire is not reported.

Lessons learned

  1. A roof-space fire involving a solar inverter can already be well developed when crews arrive, so detection and access to inverter locations matter.
  2. Extra appliances and breathing apparatus may be needed to put out a roof-space fire involving rooftop solar equipment.
  3. After a roof fire involving solar equipment, the roof structure should be inspected before the building is treated as safe to use.

More lessons on detection and monitoring, maintenance, inspection and ageing assets, from every incident on the register.

Not yet known

  • How the fire started
  • Inverter model and age
  • Cost of damage and downtime

This entry is updated when these are reported. Get an alert for the next one like it.

Source

dwfire.org.uk

Other entries that name Ferndown

Published 2026-09-28. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.

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