NFPA Journal - Winter 2024 - 29

" You're actually taking the potential ignition
sources and mixing it amongst the fuels, and in some
cases, even moving the ignition source around, " said
Meacham, the risk consultant. " How would you deal
with that from a fire protection standpoint? "
Similar concerns exist in residential settings. Since
2019, New York City has had more than 700 lithium-ion
battery fires, resulting in at least 29 deaths, many of
which were blamed on faulty batteries in e-bikes and
e-scooters in homes. It stands to reason that, over time,
the average home will continue to accumulate more
and more of these kinds of devices, some cheaply made.
Some experts even speculate about whether lithium-ion
will someday soon compete with cooking and electrical
systems as the top causes of fire in residential settings.
More homes and residential buildings around the
world are also being retrofitted with various technologies
intended to boost energy efficiency, including
photovoltaic panels and battery energy storage systems.
In some cases, these changes are made without
oversight or permitting, and fire departments don't
know the systems are there.
Research
Front
Scores of research
projects worldwide
are focusing on the
safety challenges
presented by
lithium-ion battery
technology. Here's
a roundup of Fire
Protection Research
Foundation projects
that were recently
completed, are
ongoing, or have
been proposed.
RECENTLY
PUBLISHED
" Firefighter Safety for
Battery Energy
Storage Systems "
" Fire Hazard
Assessment of Lead
Acid Batteries "
" Modern Vehicle
Hazards in Parking
Garages and Vehicle
Carriers-Phase I "
" Classification of
Motor Vehicle
Hazards in Parking
Structures/
Systems-Phase II "
" Marine Transport of
Battery Energy
Storage Systems:
Hazard Assessment and
Regulatory Analysis "
" Environmental
Impact of Li-ion
Incidents Compared
to Other Fires "
ONGOING
" EVs and Parking
Structures, Phase III "
" Assessment of
EV Firefighter Tactics
and Techniques
and the Impact on
Stranded Energy "
" PPE Contamination
New battery chemistries
involving sodium mixtures
appear close to being marketready,
and other novel battery
types are in development.
There are proposals in the
Middle East to turn some of the
world's tallest skyscrapers into
giant batteries, utilizing gravity
to generate power.
" Anytime you're allowed to introduce technologies
into a building and you don't necessarily
have to go through the normal fire review process,
you're creating the potential for increased
fire risk, " Meacham said. " 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 and the negative
from Lithium-ion
Battery Fires
and Cleaning
Best Practices "
" Explosion
Control/Prevention
Guidance for ESS
Installations "
" Landscape of
Battery ESS Hazards
and Mitigation
Strategies "
" Firefighter
Safety for
Firegrounds
Involving Lithiumion
Batteries "
PROPOSED
" Landscape Review
of Types and
Protection Strategies
for Car Stackers and
Automated Garages "
" Fire Protection
Guidance for Battery
Manufacturing "
" Risk Assessment
to Inform Location
Analysis of
Charging Stations
Near Gas Stations "
Read the completed
reports online at
nfpa.org/foundation.
Tesla electric cars
burn on a trailer in
Turkey. Firefighter
safety related to
lithium-ion battery
fires is an important
area of research
around the world.
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NFPA Journal - Winter 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - Winter 2024
