Solar fire prompts evacuation of about 1,120 people at Incheon middle school

What happened

In October 2025, a fire at a solar PV system at a middle school in Incheon, South Korea, reportedly led to the evacuation of about 1,120 students and others, according to a national audit report published by Today Energy on 19 October 2026. The source does not name the school, the installation date of the system, the cause of the fire or the extent of the damage. The report counts 13 school solar fires across 2023 to 2025, nine of which involved systems more than ten years old. The report does not state whether the Incheon system was old or where it was mounted.

Contributing factors

The source does not state the cause of the Incheon fire. Context from the same audit, which covers school solar systems in general and not this incident: the Korea Electrical Safety Corporation changed the structure inspection cycle from two years to four years, and some operators avoided inspections. Average electrical inspection failure rates rose with installation age, from 0.66 percent for systems under five years old to 2.49 percent for systems over 15 years old.

Lessons learned

1. Owners of solar systems on schools and other buildings should inspect ageing systems as well as new ones, because the audit found electrical inspection failure rates rose with installation age.
2. Solar systems on roofs are hard to reach, which can delay early fire detection and response, so operators should plan for detection, isolation and evacuation.
3. Lengthening inspection intervals can lead to missed inspections, so owners should keep to a fixed inspection schedule and track overdue checks.

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

Source

todayenergy.kr