The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department (FCFRD) has confirmed that a recent house fire in Reston was sparked by an electrical issue related to its rooftop solar panels.
Firefighters were dispatched to the 2300 block of Colts Brook Drive around 6 p.m. on Sunday (Aug. 3) for the blaze, which could be seen around the solar panels when they arrived, the FCFRD said yesterday (Monday) in a blog post.
Crews managed to limit the fire to the single-family house’s roof, and no injuries were reported to either firefighters or residents. The people living at the house were able to stay there after the fire was extinguished.
According to the FCFRD, investigators have determined that the residents were alerted to the fire by “a loud noise inside the home.”
“Upon investigation, they saw smoke coming from the roof and safely evacuated,” the department said. “Smoke alarms were present throughout the home but did not activate as the fire was isolated to the solar panels on the exterior of the roof.”
The preliminary investigation found that the fire was the result of “an electrical event involving the solar panels,” the FCFRD said. The fire caused an estimated $60,527 in property damages.
Fires caused by photovoltaic solar panels are “very uncommon,” but like with other electrical systems, issues with the design, components or installation can create arcs of electricity that might ignite a fire if they touch flammable materials, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
Fairfax County residents who install solar panels are required to obtain an operational permit and pay a $150 fire prevention fee, though the Department of Land Development Services is waiving its standard permit application fees to encourage more solar energy adoption.
A federal tax credit intended to incentivize clean energy is set to be eliminated at the end of 2025, prompting programs that partner with Fairfax County to assist residents with solar panel installations to urge property owners to sign up now while they can still take advantage of the income tax deduction.
