Lithium-ion battery fire during assembly at S&C Electric Franklin Facility

On 10 August 2016, a fire broke out in the assembly area of S&C Electric Company's Franklin, Wisconsin facility. The fire started in a utility-scale energy storage system that was still in a partially assembled state, with lithium-ion batteries present but not connected to any power source or load. The fire began in a battery manufacturer's DC power and control compartment within a battery rack and then spread to adjacent batteries. Because the system was only partially assembled, its fire suppression and containment system was not fully functional and the container doors were open, allowing personnel to evacuate safely. The facility's own fire protection system triggered an alarm and sprinklers. Local fire departments responded, cut power to the area, applied foam and then used large volumes of water to cool the batteries. The fire remained contained to the single container and extinguished within a few hours. No injuries were reported.

The system was in a partially assembled state at the time of the fire, meaning the fire suppression and containment system within the container was not yet operational and the container doors were open for personnel access. The fire originated in a battery manufacturer's DC power and control compartment of a battery rack while an agent of the battery manufacturer was working on the system.

1. Compartmentalisation and physical isolation between power conversion equipment and battery racks can limit fire spread even when a system is not fully assembled or its suppression systems are not yet operational.
2. Facilities assembling or testing battery energy storage systems should maintain close coordination with local fire departments in advance, including sharing safety data sheets and chemistry information, so responders are prepared before an incident occurs.
3. Water cooling can be an effective and appropriate response to lithium-ion battery fires to control heat spread, even though it may not extinguish the fire itself; responders should consult manufacturer safety data sheets to confirm appropriate suppression methods for the specific battery chemistry involved.

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