Rooftop solar panel fire forces evacuation of Tucson apartment block

What happened

Solar panels on the roof of an apartment complex in Tucson, Arizona caught fire on the afternoon of Monday 9 November 2026. Witnesses reported flames from the roof of a second-storey unit, and crews arriving within four minutes saw smoke escaping from the roof. The Tucson Fire Department called a second alarm because flames could spread to other units, and residents were evacuated from the building for safety reasons. Crews ran water lines and hoses to the second floor and the rooftop.

A ladder crew on the roof found the flames were confined to the solar panel system. The fire was under control by 1:08 p.m. No one was hurt.

Contributing factors

The source does not state the cause of the fire. Crews had concerns that the fire had spread into the attic, but this was not confirmed in the account.

Lessons learned

1. Rooftop solar arrays on multi-occupancy buildings need a documented isolation procedure so firefighters can de-energise the system before roof work.
2. Fire services should treat roof-mounted PV fires as a risk of spread into attic and upper-floor spaces, and plan evacuation and second-alarm responses accordingly.
3. As general guidance, operators and installers should inspect DC cabling, connectors and junction points during routine maintenance, since wiring faults are a recognised cause of rooftop PV fires.

More lessons on worker safety and safe systems of work, detection and monitoring, maintenance, inspection and ageing assets, from every incident on the register.

Source

kvoa.com