Rooftop solar panels catch fire on former Bostitch building in East Greenwich

What happened

On Tuesday 9 November 2021, a fire broke out around midday on a rooftop solar panel at 10 Briggs Drive, the former Bostitch building off South County Trail in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. The fire service was called at 12:16 p.m. The fire spread from the solar array to the rubber roof and into insulation under the roof, damaging part of the array and the roof. No one was injured.

Getting water to the fire was difficult because of the size of the building, and about 300 feet of hose was laid across the roof. Crews from North Kingstown, Warwick and West Warwick assisted, while Coventry covered other East Greenwich calls. Firefighters were to keep monitoring the roof overnight into Wednesday. The cause had not been established.

Contributing factors

The fire spread from the solar array into the rubber roof and the insulation beneath it. The size of the building and the location of the fire made it hard to get water onto the roof. The cause of ignition was not reported.

Lessons learned

1. On large flat roofs with solar arrays, plan water supply and hose routes to every part of the array with the fire service before an incident.
2. Consider how a fire in an array could spread into the roof membrane and insulation, and design roof build-ups and fire breaks with that in mind.
3. Keep a damaged rooftop array isolated and the roof monitored until the fire service is satisfied the fire is out, particularly while the cause is still unknown.

Source

eastgreenwichnews.com