Major rooftop PV fires on commercial & agricultural buildings — Q2 2025

Q2 2025 saw a surge in rooftop solar (PV) fires across warehouses, factories and farms worldwide. This AllShield tracker lists each incident with date, location, likely cause and impact, plus verified sources and expert insight—so insurers and owners can benchmark risk and improve safety.

AllShield Tracker: Stopping Rooftop PV Fires with Blue & BarrierSheets

We publish this list because transparency and learning are essential to making solar roofs truly fire-safe. By documenting incidents systematically, we spot recurring patterns (ignition points, roof build-ups, firefighting tactics) and turn them into practical improvements. From that same mission we developed AllShield Blue and BarrierSheets—passive, non-combustible underlayers that smother incipient roof fires and limit spread beneath PV fields, where other measures often help only partially.

On this page you’ll find a curated set of major Q2 2025 incidents worldwide where damage went beyond the panels. For each case we list the date, what burned, and the location, plus the suspected cause (when known) and the consequences—such as downtime, roof/insulation or interior damage, suppression-related impacts, and PV debris dispersion. Items are sorted newest first and updated as validated information becomes available, with a primary source cited for verification.

Rooftop fires with solar panels

Below you’ll find verified incidents, listed newest first. Each summary is short and practical—date, asset, location, likely cause, and consequences—followed by a primary news or authority link for verification. Skim the list or search within the page for cities, companies, or sectors relevant to your portfolio.

June 21, 2025 — Agricultural warehouse with rooftop PV burns down — Empe, Netherlands
A farm warehouse was completely lost; authorities warned about sharp PV glass fragments and issued clean-up guidance. Significant suppression water and smoke damage; operations halted.
Sources: AD — loods brandt volledig uit · GelreNieuws — update + video · De Stentor — regionaal

June 20, 2025 — Waste-transfer warehouse fire reaches roof & PV — Türkheim, Germany
A major blaze spread from mixed waste to the roof, rooftop PV and windows; ~100+ firefighters responded. Roof assembly and contents suffered heavy heat/smoke/water impacts; stored materials rendered unusable.
Sources: new-facts.eu — incident update · ZEIT (dpa) — news brief

June 19, 2025 — Storage/cheese hall roof heavily damaged; PV suspected — Zegveld, Netherlands
A very large fire ripped through a storage hall; rooftop PV was reported as likely origin pending investigation. The roof structure suffered heavy damage with additional water/soot impact from suppression.
Sources: Veiligheidsregio Utrecht — incident · AD — vermoedelijk door zonnepanelen · RTV Midden-Holland

June 18, 2025 — PV on company building; roof section & equipment affected — Rhede, Germany
PV on the building roof caught fire; firefighters contained it, but a roof section and nearby equipment sustained smoke/water damage.
Source: Borkener Zeitung — incidentreport

June 18, 2025 — Agricultural hangar roof totally alight (PV) — Sénaillac-Latronquière, France
A PV-covered roof was fully ablaze; 30+ firefighters responded. The roof had to be opened and stripped; business activity was impacted during safety works.
Source: La Dépêche — verslag

June 15, 2025 — Warehouse roof fire traced to PV cabling — Venlo (vidaXL DC), Netherlands
The blaze originated in PV cabling; roof sections were scorched and logistics paused while the site was made safe.
Sources: Omroep Horst a/d Maas — bekabeling oorzaak · L1/Headliner — schade valt mee · De Gelderlander — on-scene

June 14, 2025 — Poultry complex & manure store burn; PV debris advisory — Heibloem, Netherlands
Officials warned about PV glass/foil fragments downwind and issued clean-up guidance. Multiple sheds impacted by heat/smoke; substantial suppression water used.
Sources: Veiligheidsregio Limburg-Noord — updates · Gemeente Leudal — guidance · AD — landelijk

June 11, 2025 — PV system fire damages roof covering — Marsciano (Umbria), Italy
Flames damaged both the PV array and sections of the roof covering; interior storage was protected; electrical fault suspected.
Sources: UmbriaOn — report · Radio Galileo — detail

June 3, 2025 — Processing hall destroyed; PV debris downwind — Ter Apelkanaal, Netherlands (Ten Kate Vetten)
A severe night fire leveled a production hall; the safety region reported ash and PV fragments in surrounding agricultural areas and issued clean-up instructions; extended outage expected.
Sources: Veiligheidsregio Groningen — liveblog · NOS — landelijk

May 31, 2025 — 200 m² PV-covered roof burns; roof opened — Maillé, France
Around 200 m² of PV-covered roofing burned; firefighters cut away roof sections to stop spread; equipment below was shielded.
Source: Ouest-France — verslag

May 28, 2025 — PV modules burning; roof skin opened — Kötschach-Mauthen, Austria
An automatic alarm flagged smoke; crews opened the roof skin and removed burning modules. No interior spread, but extra roof damage from opening and suppression water.
Sources: MeinBezirk — Gailtal · BFKDO Hermagor — incident

May 22, 2025 — Hospital roof fire linked to rooftop PV — Bristol (UK)
A fault in rooftop solar panels caused a roof fire at St Michael’s Hospital; partial evacuation; services resumed after checks. Roof and PV damaged; water/smoke impacts assessed.
Sources: ITV News West Country · Fire Protection Association · Bristol24/7

May 19, 2025 — Recycling plant hall destroyed; PV debris advisory — Coevorden, Netherlands
A large industrial fire led to widespread PV glass fragments and an NL-Alert; the hall was a total loss with suppression damage noted in adjacent areas.
Sources: NOS — landelijk · Gemeente Coevorden — “resten van zonnepanelen”

May 15, 2025 — Solar panels melt during warehouse roof fire — Pasadena, Texas (USA)
A roof fire at a cold-chain warehouse melted multiple panels; roof membrane/insulation sections affected by heat and water; operations resumed after checks.
Sources: Click2Houston — on-scene · KHOU-11 — follow-up

May 15, 2025 — Under-construction industrial hall; PV sparks contained — Imola, Italy
An accidental start involving rooftop PV damaged part of the roof and array; interior spared; brief site closure for inspections.
Sources: Il Resto del Carlino — Imola · sabatosera — detail

May 14, 2025 — PV installation fire on commercial hall roof — Cinisello Balsamo (Milan), Italy
A blaze damaged the rooftop PV system; sections of roof covering affected; replacement planned; short operational pause.
Sources: ImolaOggi — kort · WikiMilano — local desk

May 4–5, 2025 — Industrial complex largely destroyed; PV debris 8–18 km — Dongen, Netherlands
A very large industrial fire at a leather/tannery facility shattered roof PV; sharp glass/foil fragments fell kilometres downwind; extensive destruction and environmental clean-up; farmers asked to check feed/water.
Sources: NOS — debris tot 8 km · Omroep Brabant — tot Belgische grens · Boerderij — advies aan boeren

May 2, 2025 — Photovoltaic array burns; localized roof/water damage — Vienna, Austria
Vienna’s fire brigade extinguished a rooftop PV fire on a hall at Freudenauer Hafenstraße; damage limited to part of the installation; roof/interior largely spared.
Source: ORF Wien — report

April 30, 2025 — Inverter fire on warehouse roof PV — Le Thor (Vaucluse), France
An inverter sparked a rooftop PV fire on a 1,000 m² warehouse. Firefighters prevented total roof loss; roof covering and part of the array damaged; smoke/water impacts assessed inside; operations paused.
Source: Le Dauphiné — verslag

April 29, 2025 — IKEA distribution center roof and solar array damaged — Joliet, Illinois (USA)
A heavy roof fire damaged sections of the roof assembly and solar array; the facility closed temporarily for safety checks; suppression water and smoke affected the roof build-up; no injuries.
Sources: CBS Chicago — report · NBC Chicago — update

The Bottom Line: Passive, Non-Combustible Roof Protection Works

Q2 2025 again shows it: cabling and inverter faults will keep happening, fires spread fast across combustible roof coverings, and PV debris can impact operations and surroundings. Training, qualified installation, thermography, connector upgrades and DC isolation all help—partially. They reduce likelihood or speed detection, but once ignition occurs they don’t stop roof-level spread. Only a passive, non-combustible underlayer beneath PV fields reliably limits propagation and loss. That’s exactly what AllShield Blue and BarrierSheets are designed to deliver: a built-in fire break for PV roofs. If you have a verified case we missed, send it and we’ll review and add it.