Rooftop solar (PV) fires on commercial & agricultural buildings — Q4 2024

Rooftop solar is booming—and so is the need to manage its fire risk. This Q4 2024 roundup highlights major rooftop PV fires on warehouses, logistics hubs and farms worldwide, with dates, locations, likely causes and consequences. All entries include primary sources.

AllShield Tracker: Stopping Rooftop PV Fires with Blue & BarrierSheets (Q4 2024)

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 Q4 2024 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.

28 Dec 2024 — PV array fire on karting-centre roof — Monastir, Cagliari (IT)
Flames involved ~14 modules on a ~2,000 m² roof; crews stopped wider spread and the affected roof section required post-suppression inspection and repair, reports Unione Sarda and CagliariNews.

28 Dec 2024 — Commercial roof PV fully involved — Kienberg, Bavaria (DE)
Rooftop PV “in Vollbrand” on arrival; multi-unit response; roof membrane and harness replacement plus water-ingress remediation expected, per FDL News.

28 Dec 2024 — Agricultural hangar with rooftop PV — Arzal, Morbihan (FR)
Forage hangar equipped with rooftop PV; significant roof damage and long wet-down/overhaul; adjacent buildings protected, reports Les Infos du Pays Gallo and Le Télégramme.

25 Dec 2024 — Municipal depot hall: inverter/battery area under PV roof — Offingen, Günzburg (DE)
Fire in the zone housing inverters and a battery for the PV system; smoke, electrical damage and roof impacts confirmed by BSAktuell with follow-up from Augsburger Allgemeine.

18 Dec 2024 — Barn with PV destroyed — Axien, Saxony-Anhalt (DE)
Complete barn loss including the PV installation and stored hay; long overhaul and residue management, covered by Mitteldeutsche Zeitung.

16 Dec 2024 — Large warehouse; PV debris advisory — Hazerswoude-Rijndijk (NL)
Regional authority warned residents about soot and PV glass fragments; extended overhaul and cleanup guidance issued, per Veiligheidsregio Hollands-Midden and Studio Alphen.

16 Dec 2024 — Barn fire with PV load — Eppingen-Mühlbach, Baden-Württemberg (DE)
Stored straw, machinery and a PV system drove the fire load; major roof loss and prolonged overhaul, per Feuerwehr Eppingen and RNZ.

14 Dec 2024 — Logistics platform: vehicles and rooftop PV — Le Boulou, Pyrénées-Orientales (FR)
~65 firefighters; around 25 vehicles destroyed and PV roof sections affected; complex suppression and salvage, via La Semaine des Pyrénées and the fire service SDIS 66.

12 Dec 2024 — Farm complex with downwind PV glass shards — Ee / Ie, Noardeast-Fryslân (NL)
Authorities reported panel glass shards across the area and issued cleanup guidance; damage clearly extended beyond the array, noted by the Municipality of Noardeast-Fryslân.

11 Dec 2024 — Agricultural hangar; PV on roof — Calvisson, Gard (FR)
Sapeurs-pompiers intervened on a hangar fire with PV present on the roof; roof and contents affected; cooling/dismantling documented by SDIS 30.

22 Nov 2024 — Large shed at nursery; PV present — Hazerswoude-Dorp (NL)
Extended operation with roof build-up removal and wet-down; business interruption likely pending re-roofing and electrical tests, via Veiligheidsregio Hollands-Midden.

21 Nov 2024 — Poultry farm roof; probable PV origin — Ripole, Città di Castello (IT)
Partial roof collapse and production disruption with a large multi-brigade response, reported by TTV.

18 Nov 2024 — Greenhouse complex; PV cabling fire on roof — ’s-Gravenzande, Westland (NL)
Fire in a PV cabling harness on the greenhouse roof; quick knock-down limited spread, but roof sections and wiring must be replaced, per Haaglanden Veilig and AD Westland.

13 Nov 2024 — PV roof fire with interior damage — Vaison-la-Romaine, Vaucluse (FR)
Fire spread from a strip of modules into the roof package; the first floor also affected; roof opened to prevent rekindle, reports Le Dauphiné.

11 Nov 2024 — Distribution centre roof; suspected PV start — Zaandam (NL)
Fire out after cutting/opening the roof; PV field and roof build-up dismantled and soaked while stock was spared (empty hall), per Veiligheidsregio Zaanstreek-Waterland.

11 Nov 2024 — Industrial capannone roof and PV burned — Castelfidardo, Marche (IT)
Roof covering and PV installation burned; building declared uninhabitable; works on panels reportedly preceded ignition (under investigation), via RAI TGR Marche.

22 Oct 2024 — Office near Wetstraat; BIPV and roof edge — Brussels (BE)
Origin at rooftop/BIPV with façade and roof-edge damage; PV partially dismantled for cooling, per BRUZZ.

19 Oct 2024 — Three farm sheds destroyed; PV debris dispersed — Ternaard, Friesland (NL)
Municipality warned of lingering smoke; PV fragments and soot prompted cleanup advice and street sweeping after the multi-shed fire, per the Municipality of Noardeast-Fryslân with resident guidance from RTV NOF.

03 Oct 2024 — PV ignition propagates into industrial warehouse — Talmassons, Udine (IT)
Ignition at the rooftop PV array propagated into the building; four-hour operation with membrane/insulation damage and internal smoke/water impacts, reports Studio Nord News.

30 Nov 2024 — PV roof and first floor affected — Monza (IT)
Fire hit roughly 300 m² of PV-covered roof and the first-floor level of a commercial building; significant interior smoke, per this news desk clip.

Context — BIPV office case analysis (Brussels)
Technical wrap-up noting façade-integrated PV as the likely trigger in the late-Oct office fire, aligning with the primary BRUZZ report and providing expert framing. pv-magazine (DE)

The Bottom Line for Q4 2024: Passive, Non-Combustible Roof Protection Works

Q4 2024 echoes the same drivers: connector/cabling faults, inverter issues, and rapid spread across combustible roof coverings, with knock-on effects from suppression water and PV debris. Training, qualified installation, thermography, connector upgrades, and DC isolation help—but only partially: they reduce likelihood or speed detection, yet they don’t stop roof-level spread once ignition occurs. A passive, non-combustible underlayer beneath PV fields is what reliably limits propagation and loss—that’s exactly what AllShield Blue and BarrierSheets deliver. If you have a verified case we missed, send it and we’ll review and add it.