A squirrel chewing through solar panel wiring may have set a Floral Park home on fire Monday afternoon, leaving a Webster Street family counting their losses while a small, possibly injured rodent hid behind a paint can in their driveway.
The fire broke out around midday on March 30 at 50 Webster St. No one was home at the time. John von Holten was walking the dog. His wife, Margarita Agudelo, was at the grocery store. Their two adult children, ages 23 and 24, were also out of the house. No injuries were reported.
The home suffered minor roof damage and lost windows on the upper floor.
What makes this fire stand out is how it was caught. The Elmont Fire Department happened to be passing by and spotted the blaze before any call came in.
“It was actually the Elmont Fire Department that was passing by and noticed it,” Agudelo said. “They were here first, and they called the Floral Park Fire Department.”
From there, the response grew fast. About 60 firefighters from Floral Park, Elmont, South Floral Park, New Hyde Park, Garden City Park, Garden City and Mineola all responded. The Nassau County Fire Marshal’s office reported the fire was under control in roughly 25 minutes.
“The whole block was full,” Agudelo said.
The homeowners believe the fire started in the solar panels installed on their roof. They pointed to a squirrel crouching behind a paint can in the driveway as the likely culprit, saying it had chewed through electrical wiring connected to the panels. Agudelo said the animal appeared to be injured.
Von Holten said the solar panels were installed by Built Well Solar. Efforts to contact the company for comment were unsuccessful as of Tuesday morning.
The fire is now under investigation. Nassau County Fire Marshal investigators and the Nassau County Police Department’s Arson and Bomb Squad are both looking into the cause. The American Red Cross was also requested to assist the family.
The incident raises questions that Long Island homeowners with rooftop solar systems should be asking right now. Solar panel installations have expanded rapidly across Nassau and Suffolk counties over the past several years, driven by state incentives and rising energy costs. But wildlife interference with solar wiring is a known and underreported hazard. Squirrels, birds and other animals routinely nest beneath panels and chew through the cables and insulation that connect them.
Solar installers and fire safety experts have long recommended physical barriers, sometimes called critter guards, to block animals from accessing the space between panels and the roof. These mesh or metal screens wrap around the perimeter of the array and prevent nesting. Not every installation includes them by default, and homeowners often don’t know to ask.
For the family on Webster Street, the cost of skipping that precaution may now show up in repair bills and insurance negotiations. Von Holten said he was already in contact with his insurance company Monday afternoon.
The broader lesson here applies to any Long Island family with rooftop solar. If your panels were installed without wildlife protection, contact your installer and ask specifically about critter guards. Check whether your homeowner’s policy covers fire damage caused by animal interference with the system. And find out whether your system has rapid shutdown capability, a feature that allows firefighters to cut power to the panels quickly during an emergency.
Solar energy is a sound investment for Long Island families facing some of the highest utility rates in the country. But the installation has to be done right, and the ongoing maintenance matters just as much as the hardware. A squirrel with a taste for electrical insulation should not be able to burn down your house.
The Nassau County Fire Marshal’s office has not released a final determination on the cause. This story will be updated as the investigation moves forward.