NHS hospital blaze that forced patients and staff to evacuate was caused by solar panels, fire service says

By JOSHUA HAINING, NEWS REPORTER Published: 20:27, 23 July 2026 | Updated: 20:40, 23 July 2026 An NHS hospital fire that forced patients and staff to evacuate was caused by solar panels, North Yorkshire Fire Service has said. The blaze erupted at Malton and Norton District Hospital on July 8 and ripped through the Springwood ward which had four rows of solar panels on its roof. The Daily Mail originally reported that the solar panels were believed to have caused the fire that engulfed the building. But a Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said the article had a 'misleading, speculative and incorrect headline'.  Now, North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said: 'the cause of the fire is believed to be solar panels.' Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust also acknowledged that the solar panels caused the blaze. An update on the website read: 'The investigation into the fire at our Springwood ward is ongoing, with a full report expected in the coming weeks. 'However, North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service has established that the fire most likely started at one of the solar panels on the roof of the building.' A fire at a hospital erupted at a North Yorkshire hospital on July 8 An aerial shot of the hospital ward that was destroyed in the fire caused by solar panels The blaze ripped through Malton and Norton District hospital and raged on through the night Video footage of the blaze showed flames around midday raging inside the building as its wooden panelling crackled under the immense heat. Pictures shared on social media also showed thick clouds of dark smoke billowing into the sky which could be seen for miles around. Fortunately, all patients were accounted for during the evacuation and nobody was injured.  Crews from North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service battled through the night to control the fire which raged on yards away from other hospital wards. David Wakeley, 80, was inside his local Sainsbury's when he left and saw the 'thick black acrid smoke' from the fire in the sky. He said: 'I came out and saw the smoke and decided to go and have a look. The closer I got, I realised it was serious. You couldn't miss it. 'It was hot, even in the heat of the day you could feel it was a lot warmer. Fortunately, a lot of the heat was shielded by the fence. 'If I was on the other side of the fence, I would have been worried.' Thick plumes of 'black acrid' smoke billowed into the sky and could be seen for miles around Video footage showed a huge fire on the Springwood ward building which crackled under the heat At its peak, fire crews used three jet hoses and an aerial ladder to extinguish the fire and by the morning, just one fire engine remained at the hospital as a safety precaution. The building destroyed in the fire was the hospital's Springwood Unit, which provides mental health services for elderly people. Aerial pictures of the ward taken before the fire show four rows of solar panels across the building's roof. After the fire, the hospital was temporarily closed and patients with appointments were told not to attend following the incident. The hospital has since reopened and services at the hospital are now running as normal. Residents were also advised to keep their doors and windows shut due to the vast amount of smoke coming from the site.   The blaze came just days after a family watched on in horror as their newbuild home went up in flames in a suspected solar panel fire. Tammi Atherton, 54, had been parked up in the lounge with Wimbledon on the telly and was about to take a shower upstairs on July 4 when her fire alarm went off. She had been with her son Ben, 21, and quickly checked the house in Weston-Super-Mare for signs of smoke but couldn't find anything awry. Moments later, a neighbour started banging on the door, telling them to get out because their roof was ablaze. In May, another newbuild suffered a similar fate. Ring doorbell footage captured the roof of the property in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, bursting into flames. Neighbours described the terror of watching the family scramble to safety at about 10.30am on the Bank Holiday Monday – as the temperature had already hit 22C. Thankfully, nobody was injured in the explosion after an off-duty firefighter rescued three adults and one child from the four-bedroom detached house. Five fire crews then arrived and worked quickly to control the blaze.