NFPA Journal - Winter 2024 - 27

" We still do a terrible job
of requiring that people
actually understand the risks
associated with the changes
they're making to buildings,
materials, and systems. "
Forum. A Foundation study, " Energy Storage System
Explosion Analysis and Mitigation Techniques, " aims
to help facility designers better understand how to
stop these hazards. It will be published this fall.
Another risk for firefighters is exposure to harmful
chemicals. It's not yet well understood what
kinds of contaminants lithium-ion incidents produce,
how deeply they can seep into gear, or if these
chemicals can get into a firefighter's bloodstream.
The anecdotal and preliminary evidence is concerning,
however. Fire departments have reported that
their personal protective equipment (PPE) exhibits
a kind of slick film after battery incidents, which
firehouse cleaning extractors cannot remove. Early
studies have backed this up.
" Typical advanced cleaning isn't sufficient to get
out the chemicals in these fires, " said Jeffrey Stull, a
PPE contamination expert and NFPA technical committee
member, at the annual Urban Fire Forum
gathering. " The fact is that, after a washing, many
chemicals persist, and many are extremely toxic. "
There are advanced CO2
extractors that have been
shown to do a better job removing these chemicals,
but the machines cost more than $1 million and
events, where the batteries can't just be carried away,
it's difficult to know when a scene is safe to hand
off to the next party. Finding reputable companies
to properly dispose of batteries has also been a
challenge. " Battery packs are scattered across the
highway and you still have fire departments asking
'What do I do? Who do I call?' " Zartman said.
Developing more effective lithium-ion guidance
for fire departments hinges on a better understanding
of the risks involved for firefighters. The
explosive potential of lithium-ion came into sharp
focus in 2019 when four Peoria, Arizona, firefighters
were badly injured during a response when an
energy storage system exploded. While our knowledge
has grown substantially since then, sudden
explosions involving the flammable gases that batteries
produce in thermal runaway, especially in
confined areas, are still hard to predict or replicate
in testing.
" If we can identify and differentiate a flammable
event from an explosive event, that would be a
huge characteristic to understand in the fire service, "
Zartman told the chiefs at the recent Urban Fire
aren't accessible to the vast majority of departments.
" Given the cost, not everyone will be able to afford
these, and that is really a conundrum, " said Brian
Fennessy, chief of the Orange County (California)
Fire Authority, at the Urban Fire Forum. " We can't
in good conscience put a crew back in service with
this contaminated gear, but in all likelihood, that is
probably going to happen at some departments. It
is a real challenge for the fire service. We can't get
the poison out. "
In September, the Fire Protection Research Foundation
was awarded a $1 million Assistance to Firefighters
Grant to learn more about firefighter exposures during
lithium-ion incidents. The three-year project will also
measure PPE contamination from lithium-ion battery
events and assess the effectiveness of various PPE
cleaning methods after such incidents.
Conflicts in the
built environment
Fire and safety professionals outside of the fire
service are also struggling with numerous battery-related
questions. Bus depots offer a prime example of
the complications that can quickly arise as facilities
transition to lithium-ion.
As cities around the world strive to lower their CO2
emissions, many are setting aggressive timelines to
NFPA .ORG/JOURNAL * NFPA JOURNAL | 27
A burnt-out
factory in
Germany that
manufactured
lithium-ion
batteries. The
number of
fires involving
the batteries
has increased
sharply around
the world
across a range
of industrial
occupancies.
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NFPA Journal - Winter 2024

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