NFPA Journal - Fall 2021 - 40
Guidance
needed
After hours of deliberation, Clare and Lopez finally opened
the door of the battery container to ventilate it when a sudden
explosion rocked the facility. Those outside of the blast zone
described " a jet of flame that extended at least 75 feet outward
and an estimated 20 feet vertically " from the door of the
battery container, according to an extensive report on the incident
published last year by the UL Firefighter Safety Research
Institute. The force of the explosion blew Clare underneath
the chain-link fence, and he came to rest 70 feet from the container
door. Lopez was thrown violently into the fence, some
30 feet from the structure. Two other nearby firefighters were
knocked unconscious, their breathing apparatus and helmets
ripped away and strewn across the dusty ground.
By the next day, news of what happened in Surprise had
spread in the media and became the talk of fire departments,
researchers, and fire safety officials around the world.
Though researchers had understood that an explosion involving
a lithium-ion ESS was possible, examples of this type of
powerful deflagration were scarce. The push for answers to
what had happened began almost immediately.
NFPA investigators visited the site and interviewed Clare
and others. UL undertook an exhaustive fact-gathering effort,
ultimately published in the report " Four Firefighters Injured
In Lithium-Ion Battery Energy Storage System Explosion -
Arizona. " Arizona Public Service (APS) commissioned its own
70-page report on the incident, as did LG Chem, the manufacturer
of the lithium battery at McMicken.
Learning why the explosion occurred and how it could
have been avoided was deemed critical. ESS are becoming
ubiquitous, not just in remote stretches of desert but in
suburban neighborhoods, high-rise buildings, and office
parks-even in people's homes. As this proliferation continues,
the incident at McMicken confirmed for some a
long-simmering fear: that the fire service and safety community
are unprepared to deal with this burgeoning technology.
At the same time, the event in Surprise offered perhaps the
most complete picture yet to illustrate why battery incidents
are so challenging for first responders, and the factors that
continue to dog researchers and manufacturers in the quest
to make them safer.
THREE ACTS Top, firefighters arrived at the ESS facility in Surprise, Arizona, to find white smoke seeping from the container, prompting
them to enter the " hot zone " to take readings. Shortly after opening a door to investigate (bottom left), a large explosion occurred, injuring
four firefighters. One of the men was blown under the fence and landed near the charred ground more than 70 feet away (bottom right).
40 | NFPA JOURNAL * FALL 2021
COURTESY OF PEORIA FIRE-MEDICAL DEPARTMENT
NFPA Journal - Fall 2021
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - Fall 2021
Contents
NFPA Journal - Fall 2021 - Cover1
NFPA Journal - Fall 2021 - Cover2
NFPA Journal - Fall 2021 - 1
NFPA Journal - Fall 2021 - 2
NFPA Journal - Fall 2021 - 3
NFPA Journal - Fall 2021 - Contents
NFPA Journal - Fall 2021 - 5
NFPA Journal - Fall 2021 - 6
NFPA Journal - Fall 2021 - 7
NFPA Journal - Fall 2021 - 8
NFPA Journal - Fall 2021 - 9
NFPA Journal - Fall 2021 - 10
NFPA Journal - Fall 2021 - 11
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NFPA Journal - Fall 2021 - 14
NFPA Journal - Fall 2021 - 15
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NFPA Journal - Fall 2021 - 17
NFPA Journal - Fall 2021 - 18
NFPA Journal - Fall 2021 - 19
NFPA Journal - Fall 2021 - 20
NFPA Journal - Fall 2021 - 21
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NFPA Journal - Fall 2021 - 25
NFPA Journal - Fall 2021 - 26
NFPA Journal - Fall 2021 - 27
NFPA Journal - Fall 2021 - 28
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NFPA Journal - Fall 2021 - 30
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NFPA Journal - Fall 2021 - 40
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NFPA Journal - Fall 2021 - 42
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NFPA Journal - Fall 2021 - Cover3
NFPA Journal - Fall 2021 - Cover4
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