(Seguin) – Solar panels mounted on the roof of the Niagara Bottling plant in Seguin caught fire Tuesday morning, forcing the evacuation of employees and challenging firefighters who had to stretch hundreds of feet of hose to reach the blaze.
That’s according to Seguin Fire Chief Dale Skinner.
Skinner says crews were dispatched following reports of a fire on the roof of the building located at 1730 E. 8th Street.
“We received a call at around 11:30 this morning for a reported fire at Niagara on the roof. At the time of the call, it was unsure whether the Niagara employees inside the building were aware of the fire,” said Skinner.
When firefighters arrived, Skinner says heavy smoke was visible from the roof and employees were seen evacuating the facility.
“We deployed a drone that was able to give us a clear view of what was on fire, and it was the solar panels on the roof,” said Skinner.
The chief says the size of the building also created significant challenges for firefighters.
“This building is approximately 1 million square feet, and the fire was almost in the exact middle of the building, making access to the fire very difficult for our crews,” he said.
With assistance from the New Braunfels Fire Department, crews were able to reach the fire using aerial ladders and extended hose lines.
Skinner says it took nearly 45 minutes after arriving on scene to bring the blaze under control.
“Access to the fire was rather difficult. We were operating with hose lines off the tip of our ladder truck, and I’m being told that we had 800 feet of fire hose on the roof,” said Skinner. “That’s a long way for crews to operate on that rooftop in direct sunlight while stretching hose lines and extinguishing the fire.”
Skinner says damage to the manufacturing plant was limited primarily to the solar panel system.
“We had some light smoke inside the building, but there was no fire damage inside. The roof covering and, of course, the solar panels were heavily damaged,” said Skinner.
According to the longtime fire chief, this incident was the first solar panel fire that he has encountered during his career.
“It’s new to me. I’ve never experienced a fire from solar panels,” said Skinner. “We were aware that they had solar panels on the roof like several other businesses within our district, but it’s the first time that I’ve experienced a fire isolated to solar panels.”
Skinner says he was proud of the firefighters from both departments. He says despite the massive roof and the location of the fire right in the center, everything was attacked with precision.
“I’m very proud of the crews. They gave it their best, and we were able to minimize damage to the building. We have no injuries,” said Skinner.
Although the blaze has been extinguished, crews remained on scene Tuesday afternoon monitoring the area for any possible rekindles. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.