Solar panels named as cause of hospital fire

Solar panels are believed to have caused a fire at a North Yorkshire hospital earlier this month, the fire service has said.

The Springwood unit at Malton Hospital, which provides mental health services for older people, went up in flames on 8 July, completely destroying the building.

Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the 14-bed unit, said an investigation into the blaze was ongoing, with a full report expected in the coming weeks.

"However, North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service has established that the fire most likely started at one of the solar panels on the roof of the building," a trust spokesperson added.

"Due to the damage sustained to the solar panels during the fire, it has not been possible to determine any further details about the cause."

All 15 patients were safely evacuated from the ward during the incident and no injuries were reported.

The fire follows a similar blaze at a village primary school in Suffolk last year, in which solar panels were identified as the cause.

On the day of the fire, the school had been unoccupied and no casualties were reported.

In March, another primary school in Brantham caught fire due to a solar panel issue and last month, the roof of an Ipswich primary school went up in flames with the same cause identified.

As a result, about 80 schools in Suffolk switched off their solar panels as a precautionary measure.

Suffolk County Council told the BBC the fires were all believed to have had different causes, suggesting there was not a common fault with the panels, but the three fires originated around the units.

The spokesperson for Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust said the safety of staff and the people they cared for remained their priority.

"We have robust fire safety measures in place across our trust, including regular fire alarm testing and fire safety checks," they added.

"We can confirm that fire safety risk assessments are in place and current for all our trust buildings. This also applies to our electrical infrastructure and installations."

They confirmed fire safety systems had operated as they were supposed to at the Springwood unit when the fire started.

Further updates are expected from the trust as work at the site progresses.

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