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Emergency management warns battery energy storage incidents can be hazardous; committee discusses training, standards and potential developer agreements
Summary
Marathon County emergency management briefed the committee on hazards tied to lithium-ion battery energy storage systems and wind turbines, stressing difficult-to-extinguish fires, hazardous off-gassing, isolation zones, and recommending training, equipment funding via community benefit agreements and alignment with NFPA/UL standards.
Phil Rentmeester, Marathon County Emergency Management Director, told the Public Safety Committee that incidents involving battery energy storage systems (BESS) present unique risks to responders and nearby residents.
Rentmeester cited guidance from the International Association of Fire Chiefs and the EPA: compromised lithium-ion batteries can produce large volumes of flammable gases, present risk of deflagration, be difficult to extinguish, and may reignite hours or days after initial suppression. He said typical response guidance is to isolate the site, use water to prevent spread to exposures, set wide isolation zones (example: 330 feet for…
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