ST. CHARLES, Mo. – “I think the quick action of our neighbor, as well as the fire department and the city response getting here so quickly. I think it saved that house,” said neighbor Kim Coon.

Coon’s quick response to the flames that came from her neighbor’s solar panels revealed that the homeowners on Chestnut Ridge Court look out for each other.

The house fire happened in the afternoon, with the residents at the home not present at the time.

“It was quite an event,” Coon shared. “There were six fire trucks, and I think four ambulances.”

Photos from neighbors show flames coming from the roof, alerting the St. Charles City Fire Department.

Crews quickly contained the flames to the solar panels and a small portion of the roof.

“If this would have happened in the middle of the night, no one would have noticed. You know, a fire on top of your roof. There’s no alerting device up there,” said Captain Kelly Hunsel of St. Charles City Fire Department. “We don’t keep smoke detectors on our rooftops. So unless somebody would have noticed it, it could have potentially been much, much worse.”

Hunsel says solar panel fires are rare, but it’s a reminder to stay on top of maintenance and inspections. 

“We’ve done some specialized training on (solar panels), and really it’s just about isolating them as much as possible to reduce our risk for any type of energized emergency,” Hunsel said.

Neighbors say two dogs were inside at the time, but thankfully, they weren’t harmed.

The fire department also shared that no one was injured.