Battery storage fire at solar plant damages 306 battery units in Haenam, South Korea
EIR-0674On 12 July 2018, at around 16:24, a fire broke out in an equipment building at a solar power plant in Songji-myeon, Haenam County, South Jeolla Province, South Korea. The fire service deployed 15 fire trucks and took about two hours to bring the blaze under control. Firefighters reported difficulty extinguishing the fire because the lithium battery material reacts violently with water, and dry chemical powder extinguishers were used instead. In total, 306 battery units were damaged. No injuries were reported. The fire service estimated property damage at approximately 460 million South Korean won. The cause of the fire was under investigation at the time of reporting.
The lithium battery chemistry involved is water reactive, which complicated firefighting and required use of dry chemical extinguishing agents instead of water.
- Fire services responding to battery energy storage incidents should be briefed in advance on water reactive battery chemistries and equipped with appropriate dry chemical extinguishing agents.
- Co-located solar and battery storage sites should have clear signage and pre-incident plans identifying battery enclosures for emergency responders.
- Root cause investigations following early-life BESS fires, especially in systems under one year old, should be published to help identify systemic risks in newly commissioned installations.
Published 2026-09-11. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.