Solar panels catch fire on roof of High Wycombe home

What happened

Firefighters were called to a single-storey home on Squirrel Lane, High Wycombe, at about 2.24pm on 19 April 2026 after solar panels on the roof caught fire. Two crews from High Wycombe attended and found a fire involving the panels on the roof. All of the solar panels were isolated before crews used a hose reel jet and an extension ladder to extinguish the flames. A thermal imaging camera was then used to monitor for remaining heat.

A fire service spokesperson said an area restriction was put in place while crews monitored conditions. The article does not report the cause of the fire, any injuries, or the extent of damage. A separate refuse bin fire on St Hughs Avenue, mentioned in the same article, is unrelated.

Lessons learned

1. Isolate PV arrays at both DC and AC level before firefighting, and make isolation points clearly accessible to crews.
2. Use thermal imaging after extinguishment to find residual heat in roof voids and cable runs before standing down.
3. After any rooftop PV fire, inspect DC cabling, connectors and inverters before the system is re-energised.

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

Source

bucksfreepress.co.uk