Inverter fire on rooftop solar equipment at Sainsbury's store in Sutton

What happened

On 20 August 2024, a fire broke out in a solar panel inverter on the roof of a multi-level commercial building and warehouse at the Sainsbury's store on Sutton High Street, Sutton, London. The London Fire Brigade was called just after 10am. Three fire engines and around 15 firefighters from Mitcham and Wimbledon fire stations attended. The brigade reported that the inverter at roof level was alight and later said the fire had been extinguished.

The incident was confirmed to be over at 2.02pm. Sainsbury's said the store was temporarily closed during the morning while fire services attended, and that it had since reopened. The source does not mention injuries.

Contributing factors

Not reported in the source.

Lessons learned

1. Inverters on rooftop solar arrays can ignite, so operators of commercial roofs should ensure inverters are installed, ventilated and maintained to the manufacturer's specification.
2. Roof-level electrical equipment should have thermal monitoring or alarms so that a developing fault is detected before it becomes a visible fire.
3. Store and site operators should plan closure and communication procedures for incidents involving rooftop electrical equipment so that customers and staff are informed quickly.

More lessons on design, standards and commissioning, detection and monitoring, worker safety and safe systems of work, from every incident on the register.

Source

yourlocalguardian.co.uk