Fire hits industrial building, PV system in Switzerland

A fire hit an industrial building and its PV system in Switzerland earlier this month, but the cause of the blaze remains unclear.

Image: Police Cantonale Valaisanne

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A fire completely destroyed an industrial building equipped with a PV system in Vétroz, a municipality in the district of Conthey in the canton of Valais in French-speaking Switzerland, on July 8.

A fire July 8 destroyed an industrial building equipped with a PV system in Vétroz, Switzerland. The local police published several videos of the blaze on its Twitter account. They reported that the fire required the intervention of 140 firefighters and two helicopters.

The fire also destroyed a truck and smoke spread across nearby areas, triggering an alert from local authorities, who are still investigating the causes of the fire.

A week after the accident, the municipality of Vétroz stated that civil protection completed its mission to control and clean up residues and slag, including pieces of the PV system.

“The prohibition of grazing and fodder harvesting in the area concerned is therefore lifted,” the municipality said. “The measure had been enacted in view of the risks that these residues represent for animals that could have ingested them.”

Fragments of the solar modules

Image: Protection civile Valais

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