Firefighters isolate solar farm substation after smoke in Devon

What happened

Fire crews from Buckfastleigh, joined by crews from Totnes fire station, were called to reports of a fire at a solar panel farm in Devon, as reported by the Mid Devon Advertiser on 14 April 2023. On arrival, large amounts of smoke were seen coming from one of the substations on the site. Crews first took a defensive approach, isolating the solar panels associated with the substation. A firefighter was then tasked with accessing a final isolation box to ensure it was fully isolated and posed no further risk of electrocution.

An engineer from a company trained to deal with such incidents, who was passing the site on other business, stopped to assist with expert knowledge and guidance. The Totnes crew revisited the site later in the day to confirm it was still safe and closed the incident. The source does not report any damage or injuries.

Contributing factors

Not reported. The source does not state what caused the smoke at the substation.

Lessons learned

1. Fire services need current site plans and isolation points for solar farm substations, including the isolators that separate the panel array from the substation.
2. Operators should make trained technical staff or contact details available to emergency responders, so that expert guidance can be given quickly during an incident.
3. Responders should isolate the array and confirm isolation at every point before close approach, since solar panels can remain live in daylight and the risk of electrocution persists.

More lessons on fire suppression and firefighting, emergency response and public communication, worker safety and safe systems of work, from every incident on the register.

Source

middevonadvertiser.co.uk