5-hectares lost in Finley solar farm fire

By John Thompson

Jan 4, 2022

Aerial footage of the blaze was captured by Tocumwal pilot-instructor Eddie Madden, who was instructing a student pilot overhead at the time. Photo by Eddie Madden

Up to five hectares of grassland was burned at the Finley Solar Farm after a blaze started at 9am today.

Firefighters have confirmed there was no structural damage at the site.

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Though the panels had been powered off, attending crews chose to attack the fire from outside due to safety concerns.

“We were out there for the best part of an hour and a half,” said Finley Fire + Rescue Deputy Commander Bernie Thompson.

“Our job was to mainly monitor the fire and make sure it didn’t get out of hand, the fire was sort of walking it’s way out from beneath the panels and did not constitute a major threat to anything.

“I imagine that there was some wiring damage, but as far as we could tell there was no structural damage.”

A total of five pumpers attended the scene - four from RFS brigades in Tocumwal and Finley, and the fifth was from Finley’s Fire + Rescue NSW brigade.

The cause of the fire in unknown.

Aerial footage of the blaze was captured by Tocumwal pilot-instructor Eddie Madden, who was instructing a student pilot overhead at the time.

By John Thompson