Garage fire at Bennett Springs home understood to be caused by solar battery

What happened

A fire started in the garage of a home in Bennett Springs, Australia, and was reported on 18 August 2022. Neighbours called triple-0, and firefighters responded to the Ranthus Avenue address at about 12.15pm, when they saw black smoke billowing from the property. The blaze took about an hour to extinguish. It is understood that batteries for the home's solar panels caused the fire, which spread into the roof space of the house. Everyone inside the home was accounted for. The cause had not been confirmed by an official investigation at the time of reporting.

Contributing factors

Not reported. The article gives no detail on the battery model, installation, charging arrangements or protection systems.

Lessons learned

1. Residential battery systems installed in garages or other enclosed spaces need fire risk assessment, including clearance from combustible materials and access for firefighting.
2. Battery installations should be inspected after installation and at intervals, particularly where the home has changed use or the system has been modified.
3. Householders and neighbours should be told how to raise an early alarm, because fire that reaches a roof space can spread quickly before it is visible from outside.

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

Source

thewest.com.au