North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service has determined that solar panels were the likely cause of a fire that forced the evacuation of patients and staff from Malton and Norton District Hospital on July 8. The blaze, which ripped through the hospital's Springwood ward, was initially reported by the Daily Mail to be caused by solar panels, a claim initially contested by a Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson who called the report misleading.
However, the fire service and the NHS Trust later confirmed that the fire is believed to have originated from one of the solar panels installed on the building's roof. An investigation into the incident is ongoing, with a full report anticipated in the coming weeks. Video footage showed flames engulfing the ward, with wooden panelling crackling under intense heat, and thick, dark smoke billowing into the sky, visible for miles.
Fire crews battled through the night to contain the fire, utilizing three jet hoses and an aerial ladder at its peak. Fortunately, all patients were accounted for during the evacuation, and no injuries were reported.
The Springwood Unit, which provides mental health services for elderly individuals, was destroyed in the fire. Aerial photographs taken before the incident show four rows of solar panels on the ward's roof.
Following the incident, the hospital was temporarily closed, and patients were advised not to attend appointments. Services have since resumed, and the hospital is operating as normal. Residents in the vicinity were advised to keep doors and windows closed due to the smoke.
This incident follows other recent events where solar panels have been suspected in house fires. In one case on July 4, a family escaped their home in Weston-Super-Mare just moments before their roof became engulfed in flames, with solar panels also being a suspected cause. Another newbuild property in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, also experienced a roof fire in May, captured on Ring doorbell footage, where an off-duty firefighter assisted in rescuing the occupants. In both of these instances, no injuries were reported.