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Solar PVUnited KingdomEIR-2721

Solar panel fire breaks out at Shanklea Primary School

2025Published 3 Nov 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor

SignificantThermal / fire
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Companies named in the reporting of this entry (being named is not a finding of fault): Northumberland County Council

What happened

A fire started in the solar panels on the roof of Shanklea Primary School in Cramlington, Northumberland. Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service said the fire began shortly before 14:00 BST and sent five crews to the scene. The solar panels on the west side of the building were ablaze, and large plumes of black smoke were seen rising from the building. Firefighters used two hose reel jets and a covering jet, with four firefighters wearing breathing apparatus.

Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service supported the response. No one was reported injured. Northumberland County Council closed the school and sought structural advice on the condition of the building, and said the school would be unable to open on the following Monday.

Contributing factors

The source does not state the cause of the fire. It says only that the fire began in the solar panels on the roof.

Lessons learned

  1. Rooftop PV arrays on schools and other occupied buildings should be inspected regularly, including DC cabling, connectors and isolators, because faults in these components can start fires on the roof.
  2. Building owners should give fire services clear, current information on where PV isolators and DC disconnects are, so crews can make the array safe before tackling a roof fire.
  3. After a fire involving a roof-mounted array, the building should be checked for structural damage before reoccupation, as the council did here, and the school's reopening plans should allow for that assessment.

More lessons on electrical protection and isolation, fire suppression and firefighting, structural integrity and turbines, from every incident on the register.

Source

BBC News (bbc.co.uk)

Other entries that name Primary

Published 2026-11-03. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.

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