Firefighters are reminding householders of safety precautions following several electrical fire incidents involving solar systems and lithium batteries in the past month.
Doyalson Fire and Rescue and Lake Munmorah Rural Fire Service were called out to a fire caused by a solar inverter recently at a Lake Munmorah property.
On arrival they found an inverter alight on the side of a building which was quickly cooled with CO2 extinguishers and an electrician isolated the panels.
Earlier that same day, the Doyalson firefighters and Mannering Park Rural Fire Service responded to a house fire at Mannering Park.
They discovered a solar switch ablaze on the roof which a resident was actively cooling.
“We promptly switched off the power, continued cooling and co-ordinated with a licensed electrician to safely isolate and replace the damaged switch,” a Doyalson firefighter said.
Less than 24 hours later there was another solar panel isolator fire in Lake Munmorah.
“Whilst we do not know the exact cause of the fault, it appears that age is a factor and we urge all our local community to remember that systems such as these should be serviced regularly and features such as isolators replaced at intervals as recommended by the manufacturer,” the firefighter said.
These incidents serve as a timely reminder regarding the safety precautions also associated with electric bikes and scooters.
Firefighters say that there has been a notable surge in fires from lithium batteries, some of which have exhibited thermal runaway during charging, leading to residential and industrial fires.
It is crucial to avoid charging these devices indoors and to ensure the presence of functioning (working) smoke alarms in your residence.