Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
State fire specialist warns of lithium-ion risks, recommends planning and updated codes for battery energy storage
Summary
A New York fire protection specialist told Greene County officials that lithium-ion battery incidents can release toxic gases and spread by thermal runaway; industry practice often focuses on containment, monitoring and allowing some systems to burn while protecting surrounding modules, and updated NFPA/UL standards are improving safety.
Victor Graves, a fire protection specialist with New York's Office of Fire Prevention and Control, told Greene County officials that lithium-ion battery emergencies pose distinct risks and require updated procedures and planning.
"When a lithium-ion battery cell goes in the thermal runaway, it produces a large amount of very toxic, very flammable gas," Graves said. He described how cells can vaporize electrolytes, generate combustible gases and propagate failure from cell to cell inside a rack. Based on recent incident experience, Graves said the hazardous atmosphere usually remains close to the failing module and often dissipates quickly once outside the enclosure.
Drawing on regional incident response work in Jefferson County and Warwick, Graves said that in many BESS incidents the fire…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
