Firefighters tackle two burning solar installations

Fire brigades responded to two fires involving photovoltaic installations in a short period on Saturday, ORF reported. Panels installed on a garage burned in Völkermarkt, while firefighters were called to a burning photovoltaic system at a school in Klagenfurt.

In Völkermarkt, the homeowner heard an explosion and discovered the fire on the garage roof. He tried to extinguish it with a portable fire extinguisher before firefighters arrived. They prevented the flames from spreading.

In Klagenfurt’s Waidmannsdorf district, two inverters in the photovoltaic installation on the roof of Theodor-Körner School caught fire for an unknown reason. By the time firefighters were alerted, the flames had spread to parts of the facade.

Nineteen members of the professional fire brigade and two volunteer fire brigades took part in the operation. The fire was quickly brought under control. The photovoltaic system’s electronics and part of the exterior facade were destroyed, while the building suffered minor smoke damage. No one was injured.