NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 52

ESS
he said, " so it's hard for the fire service
to understand them. "
Most of the time, however, ESS incidents
can be tied together by the fact
that they resemble hazardous materials
incidents-they can produce toxic
fumes and contaminated water runoff,
and they pose longer-term risks than
conventional fires. " This is the new
hazmat, " Towski said.
" The challenges of decommissioning
systems after a fire or other damaging
event can't be overstated, " Rogers
said. " It's not as simple as putting the
fire out. We know these things have
a tendency to reignite. There may be
stranded [electrical] energy in the damaged
batteries and how to best get rid
of that is still unknown. "
A 30-minute training video released
by FSRI, FDNY, and New York Metro
Area utility company Con Edison in
2021 reiterates the risk of stranded
energy in these systems. " The biggest
problem we have with these battery
systems is that retained energy, "
Anthony Natale, a member of Con Edison's
emergency preparedness team,
says in the video. Stranded energy
remaining in damaged batteries after
they've seemingly burned out or been
drowned in water is the reason reignitions
can occur hours or even days
following an incident.
From a training perspective, Sullivan
believes treating ESS incidents like
hazmat incidents would be one way
to establish clear levels of expertise
within the fire service, similar to those
outlined in NFPA 470, Hazardous
Materials/Weapons of Mass Destruction
(WMD) Standard for Responders.
According to that standard, firefighters
can fall under varying levels of qualification,
from the most basic level
( " awareness " ) to the most advanced
( " hazardous materials technician " ).
A level known as " operations " sits in
between the two.
" I know there is some support behind
this approach, " Sullivan said. " The fire
service is already familiar with the
three levels of hazmat training, and it's
a great way to get everybody involved
since you can train on the awareness
level as part of a firefighter's initial fire
academy training. "
52 | NFPA JOURNAL * SUMMER 2022
Establishing training or qualification
levels along these lines could also help
clarify which personnel need to be on
the scene or contacted during incidents-something
firefighters struggled
with at the incident in Surprise, Arizona.
" In Surprise, the first crews showed
up not really aware of what they were
dealing with, " Sullivan said. " They were
initially called to respond to a brush
fire. When they arrived on scene, it was
instead this big electric utility-looking
thing that was smoking. They didn't
know who to call. It took several people
at the utility company to even figure out
who to talk to. "
McCormack, the Boston chief, added
that " the beauty of making ESS incidents
hazmat incidents " is that the
responsibility for cleanup falls on the
owner of the ESS. " There are federal
codes that dictate this, " he said, alluding
to regulations imposed by organizations
including the Environmental
Protection Agency and Department of
Transportation.
CONFERENCE
SESSIONS
An AHJ's Guide to Energy
Storage System (ESS) Listings
and Fire Propagation Testing
Monday, June 6, 9:15-10:15 a.m.
Adam Barowy and Laurie
Florence, UL
Lithium-Ion Energy Storage:
A Panel Discussion of
Lessons Learned from the
Surprise, Arizona, Incident
Monday, June 6, 10:30 a.m.-noon
Paul Hayes, American Fire
Technologies
Identifying and Reducing
Explosion Risks in Energy
Storage Systems
Wednesday, June 8, 2-3 p.m.
Matthew Paiss, Pacific Northwest
National Laboratory
Developing ESS Response
Training-A Collaborative
Approach
Wednesday, June 8, 3:15-4:15 p.m.
Chris Towski, Cambridge Fire
Department; Marty McCormack,
Boston Fire Department
In some places, such as New York City,
the hazmat/ESS connection has already
been codified. According to FDNY code,
" The removal of any stationary storage
battery system experiencing abnormal
temperatures or gas emission readings
as a result of physical damage, exposure
to fire, or other cause of failure, must be
coordinated with the Hazardous Materials
Unit of the Fire Department's Bureau
of Operations. "
Emergency response to any ESS incident
in New York City also mirrors a
hazmat response, FDNY Deputy Chief
George Healy says in the training video
released last year. " We're going to have
our hazmat resources responding, " he
says. " We're going to take our time to
manage the incident appropriately.
It will take a lot of time and a lot of
resources to make sure it's safely and
properly managed and mitigated. The
hallmark to our safety will be slow,
deliberate decision making and taking
action, when necessary, in consultation
with other first responders and our
partners at Con Edison or whatever
utility [manages] the installation. "
Partnerships, regulation,
and data
Partnerships between first responders
and ESS companies or ESS site owners,
like the one FDNY has forged with Con
Edison, are another critical component
of setting the fire service up for success
in safely and effectively responding to
ESS incidents. Observers say both sides
can learn a lot from each another.
" When we first started seeing ESS
come into the city, we asked these companies
about fire and they said, 'Well,
they don't catch on fire,' " Rogers said,
remembering his time at FDNY several
years ago. Of course, that isn't true, and
the fire service has helped ESS manufacturers,
installers, and the companies
that manage existing systems understand
the fire risks of these systems and
fire department response capabilities
over time. At the same time, these companies
have a role to play in providing
technical assistance to firefighters
during incidents involving energy storage
systems.
Today, what Rogers described as " a
very aggressive " approach to providing
NFPA Journal - Summer 2022

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