Fire involves roof and solar panels at a house under construction in Dittisham

What happened

On 13 January 2022, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service crews were called to a roof fire with smoke issuing at a detached two-storey private dwelling in Dittisham, reported to be under construction. An update said the roof fire also involved PV solar panels. The service later recorded that the fire involved the roof and the PV solar panels and was extinguished using six breathing apparatus wearers, four 45 mm jets, one hose reel jet, two 135 ladders and safety-at-heights equipment. About 20 per cent of the building was damaged by fire and 50 per cent by water. The cause was recorded as accidental.

Contributing factors

The fire service recorded the cause as accidental. It did not report how the fire started, or whether the solar panels were the origin.

Lessons learned

1. A roof fire at a dwelling under construction can involve PV panels already fitted, so crews should treat the array as electrical equipment until it is isolated.
2. Water used on a roof fire can damage more of a building than the fire itself, which matters where panels sit on the roof.
3. Incident records should state whether solar PV was involved, and should not treat involvement as proof that the panels started the fire.

More lessons on electrical protection and isolation, from every incident on the register.

Not yet known

• Exact cause of the accidental fire
• Model and age of the solar PV panels
• Cost of repairs and downtime

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

Source

dsfire.gov.uk