London canalside fire

Published: Monday, 03 July 2017

THE new development of luxury flats being constructed at Bow Wharf in London caught fire yesterday, Sunday, with 12 fire engines fighting the blaze.

Bow wharfThe development is situated at the junction of the Regents and Hertford Union canals in the city and comprises of 24 units in total, including five houses and 19 apartments all of which will be finished to a high standard throughout, Alan Tilbury reports.

Solar panels

It is seen as though the solar panels covering the roof of the buildings caught fire, with at least 75% of the roof being destroyed, with an estimated 80 fire fighters attempting to douse the fire.

Most of the boats moored on the canal by the building were moved away as debris was falling, and the area around the fire and the surrounding developments were evacuated.

£1 million apartments

Work on the development started last year with it expected to be completed this summer, with most of the apartments sold at around £1 million each.

Though it has been played down, there have been other instances of solar panels catching fire, with one on a boat on the Shropshire Union Canal. Such major occurrences, if this fire was caused by the solar panels could be disastrous to the race to be 'green'.