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Fire protection engineers recommend a defensive strategy for battery fires, focusing on preventing the spread of thermal runaway rather than directly extinguishing the flames. In the event of a fire in a battery energy storage system (BESS), the instinctive reaction may be to spray the system with water. However, this isnt always the best response. Battery experts instead suggest a defensive cooling strategy that prioritizes fire containment over direct flame suppression. “We primarily face two hazards: normal fire events and explosion events,” Mishaal SyedNaveed, senior fire protection engineer at Wärtsilä Energy Storage, explained to pv magazine . He noted that battery failure poses the risk of “thermal runaway,” which increases the danger of explosions if the gases ignite. Therefore, SyedNaveed indicated that directly spraying liquid onto the battery enclosure could worsen the situation. Using water to fight the fire can actually aggravate the situation and cause arcing or short circuits, he said. He recommends fire officials adopt a more defensive approach and stay out of the building. “Not taking an offensive approach is contradictory behavior for many people who work in fire departments,” he acknowledged, noting that water is typically the best solution for extinguishing fires. But with batteries, the fuel must be allowed to burn off and the focus must be on preventing the fire from spreading and cooling the adjacent cells. Implementing a cooling strategy can be as simple as changing the nozzle pattern on a fire hose. “Put it in fog mode and use it to cool the surrounding modules,” Syed Naveed explained. “There’s no need to apply water directly to the battery that started the fire.” Ensuring the modules are separated from each other and maintaining that spatial distance is also important, he added. Syed Naveed explained that Wärtsilä collaborates with Fire & Risk Alliance to offer training programs for first responders that balance the necessary technical knowledge with practical experience. “We have firefighters who help other firefighters,” he said. “That mentality helps.” In these workshops, first responders typically tour a battery site and learn how batteries can fail and how to safely mitigate such events if they occur. Still, training and testing are only part of the challenge. Although regulations are slowly advancing, fragmentation across jurisdictions in the U.S. remains a barrier to a unified fire code. Syed Naveed noted that this is changing; NFPA 855, a model fire code for energy storage systems, is gaining traction as a basis for safety planning. “Its a global standard originating in the U.S.,” he explained, “but the content and recommendations are being adopted in many other places around the world.” However, he added, design verification and rigorous testing are essential as technology continues to advance faster than regulation. “As in every industry, the technology is already here, but the codes arent there yet,” he noted. Ultimately, he believes, bridging the gap between emergency responders and engineering professionals is key to preventing battery fires from becoming disasters. “As a community, we should better understand and eliminate misinformation,” Syed Naveed said. “These things arent dangerous bombs… having a robust design and proper technological knowledge can make all the difference.” |
