By FireRescue1 Staff
CHANTILLY, Va. — The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) has launched a dedicated resource webpage focused on fire department response to lithium-ion battery incidents and energy storage systems (ESS).
The resource center, “Lithium-Ion and Energy Storage Systems,” is the culmination of efforts by the IAFC’s Safety and Health Section and Fire and Life Safety Section, with a workgroup ultimately producing multiple resource guides and webinars focused on preparing for these incidents.
IAFC President and Board Chair Chief Donna Black underscored the importance of these resources for fire departments:
Our communities are becoming increasingly impacted with complex and at times fatal fire incidents where the cause is related to batteries powering mobility devices such as e-bikes and e-scooters. The fire service response is further complicated by the challenges that result from incidents that occur with battery-powered electric vehicles or energy storage systems.”
The nearly 30-person workgroup is now creating a lithium-ion toolkit that will aid the fire service in not only preparing organizations for response to incidents involving lithium-ion batteries, but provide tools for community risk reduction efforts, building and fire code best practices, as well as general information on associated equipment, such as building and community charging. This toolkit is set to be released by the end of February.