Fault with solar panels caused fire that ripped through flats at Rosewood estate at Langley

Residents are still coming to terms with a devastating fire that ripped through the roof and top floor of a block of flats on their new housing estate.

The fire service has confirmed the cause of the blaze at the flats in Eden Road, Langley, near Maidstone, was a fault with the solar panels on the roof.

One near neighbour who lives opposite in Gardenia Road said: “Thank goodness I don’t have solar panels, but the occupants of other blocks that do must be wondering whether they are safe!”

Residents first spotted smoke wafting up from the roof at around 2.30pm on Tuesday, but within minutes flames were seen soaring into the sky.

A passing mum, on her way to collect her kids from school, saw what was happening and alerted the occupants of the 12 flats in the block, which is on the corner of Eden Road and Gardenia Road.

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When the firefighters arrived they ordered the evacuation of that block and a neighbouring block too.

One occupant there described arriving home from work and just having time to rescue his dog, before being told to get out.

A crowd of displaced residents and onlookers gathered to watch as 10 fire engines arrived to tackle the blaze.

The entry to the estate was initially cordoned off while the emergency services operated, but the cordon was later reduced, and today, two days later, is only around the damaged block of flats.

At that time of day, many of the properties were empty with the occupants out at work.

One young woman in the neighbouring block described arriving home later that evening to find her front door damaged where fire crews had forced entry to ensure that her flat was empty.

Several neighbours had a similar experience. The damaged doors have been secured.

One resident in Gardenia Road said that despite warnings from the fire service to keep windows and doors closed, there seemed to be very little smoke.

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He said: “I was working from home, making calls with my headset on. To be honest, I was unaware anything was going on for a long time. I was vaguely aware of sirens going, but that’s not uncommon along the Sutton Road.

“The fire didn’t really affect me, but when I went to bed about 10.30pm, after the flames were out, but with the firemen still there, I did wonder whether I was going to be woken up by them at any moment if it flared up again.

The man, who asked not to be named, said: “I do feel sorry for the people in the flats. It must be a terrible shock to find yourself suddenly homeless.”

It is believed that 12 households have been unable to return to the homes and are in emergency accommodation.

A Kent Fire and Rescue Service investigation team spent yesterday at the scene to determine the cause of the blaze. In the afternoon the clean-up operation got under way.