Solar Panel Fault Known a Year Before Northumberland School Fire
Potential safety issues with solar panels were known to a council for more than a year before a fire broke out at a primary school this month, following a similar fire at a community centre in June 2024
BBC News has the story.
Shanklea Primary School in Cramlington caught fire on July 5th, but Northumberland County Council said it had been aware of potential safety issues with the panels since June 2024 when a similar fire broke out at Northburn Community Centre.
A council spokesman said similar panels fitted on 141 of its buildings had been switched off as a “precaution” following the school fire.
Local Labour leader Scott Dickinson called the year-long delay “crazy” and accused the council of putting lives at risk.
“How lucky are we that the fire happened at the weekend?” he said. “Somebody could have died. There have been two fires, we’re just lucky they have not been at a school full of children or a building that could have injured the workforce.”
A council spokesman said there had been “no requirement or recommendation” for the solar panels to be turned off following the Northburn fire but further action would have been taken if there were concerns over public safety.
Following the community centre fire, Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service began a plan to inspect all the council’s solar panels installed prior to 2019.
The spokesman said there were 81 schools, 10 fire stations, six leisure centres and 44 other buildings fitted with these solar panels in the county. They all remain open.
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