ESSEX County Fire and Rescue Service is reassuring people with solar panels on their roofs that we will always attend their home in an emergency situation.

The warning comes after other UK fire services have handled calls over the past few weeks from people receiving sales calls encouraging them to replace their existing solar panels.

In each case, the caller said that crews would not attend a fire caused by older solar panels and that firefighters might refuse to fight the fire through fear of being electrocuted.

Neil Fenwick, Head of Community Safety, said: “Our crews will always turn out to a fire and we have procedures in place to deal with every type of incident including fires involving solar panels.

“While all fires involving electrical currents pose a possible risk to our firefighters, we will always tackle the fire as safely and effectively as possible.

“People should not feel pressurised into spending thousands of pounds on a new system unnecessarily. Keeping people safe across the County is at the very heart of ECFRS.”

MCS (The Microgeneration Certification Scheme) has been working closely with Trading Standards and have encouraged anyone who is approached by companies offering these services to get in contact.

If you have any concerns, contact Trading Standards through the Citizens Advice helpline on 03454 040506, or phone MCS on 020 7090 1082, or email [email protected]