(Image: Yorkshire Vision Media)
The NHS trust in charge of York Hospital has said it is taking further steps to ensure its solar panels are fire safe after a huge blaze at Malton hospital was revealed to be most likely caused by solar panels.
A York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson stressed that any solar panels installed at its sites are “subject to rigorous design, installation, testing and maintenance standards and must comply with all relevant fire and electrical safety requirements”.
But they said the trust, “as an additional precaution”, is “undertaking surveys of both existing and planned solar panel installations to provide further assurance that they continue to meet the high safety standards we expect”.
It comes after plans to install more solar panels at York and Scarborough hospitals were approved earlier this year.
York Hospital
(Image: Newsquest)
North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said the fire that tore through Malton Hospital’s Springwood ward earlier this month was most likely started at one of the solar panels on the roof of the building.
The York and Scarborough NHS trust spokesperson said: “The safety of our patients, visitors and colleagues is our highest priority. Any solar panel installations on our sites are subject to rigorous design, installation, testing and maintenance standards and must comply with all relevant fire and electrical safety requirements.
“The investigation into the fire at Malton Hospital remains ongoing, and it would not be appropriate to speculate further while that process continues. We will carefully consider any findings and recommendations arising from the investigation and, as we always do, ensure any relevant learning is reflected in our approach.
“In the meantime, our decarbonisation programme continues as planned. As an additional precaution, we are undertaking surveys of both existing and planned solar panel installations to provide further assurance that they continue to meet the high safety standards we expect.”
The Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust (TEWV), which runs the 15-bed Springwood ward at Malton Hospital, said it has not been possible to determine any further details about the cause due to the damage sustained to the solar panels during the fire.
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Meanwhile, York Minster said the solar panels on the ancient building’s roof were “designed with fire safety as the primary requirement”, after the likely caused of the Malton hospital blaze was revealed.
A Minster spokesperson said the Chapter of York worked with its insurer to “the system's design adequately mitigated fire risk to the historic fabric of the building”.
The Minster previously said fire safety was a top priority when installing its solar panels given the cathedral’s history of rooftop fires – most recently in 1984 when lightning struck the cathedral’s South Transept.