First Responders Guide to Lithium-Ion Battery Energy Storage System Incidents

This document provides guidance to first responders for incidents involving energy storage systems (ESS).

The guidance is specific to ESS with lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries, but some elements may apply to other technologies also. Hazards addressed include fire, explosion, arc flash, shock, and toxic chemicals. For the purposes of this guide, a facility is assumed to be subject to the 2023 revision of NFPA 855 [B8]1 and to have a battery housed in a number of outdoor enclosures with total energy exceeding 600 kWh, thus triggering requirements for a hazard mitigation analysis (HMA), fire and explosion testing in accordance with UL 9540A [B14], emergency planning, and annual training. (The 2021 International Fire Code (IFC) [B2] has language that has been largely harmonized with NFPA 855, so the requirements are similar.)

This guide provides recommendations for pre-incident planning and incident response. Additional tutorial content is provided for each of the hazard categories. The Bibliography provides references to applicable codes and standards, and other documents of interest.