Battery storage fire burns for a second day at Warwick energy storage facility, New York
EIR-0777Other entries that name Warwick
- Fire at Church Street Battery Storage Facility, Warwick, New York, involves unauthorized system
- Single container fire at West Warwick 3 Battery Storage Site in Warwick, New York
- Battery storage fire in Warwick, New York involved unauthorised system
- Battery Storage Fire and Fume Release at Two Warwick, New York Sites
- Manufacturing defect in Powin battery units blamed for Warwick storage fires
Provisional entry. Published from first reports. This entry is rechecked automatically and updated when more sources appear. Next update: 17 September 2026.
A fire broke out at a battery energy storage facility operated by Convergent Energy and Power on County Route 1 in Warwick, New York, reported to have started during a storm on the Monday night. The lithium-ion batteries, manufactured by Powin, were housed in several storage containers on school grounds rented from the local school district, and stored energy for Orange and Rockland Utilities. The fire was still burning on the Wednesday, a second day, with hazmat crews, police and the fire department on scene, and was expected to continue burning into the night or longer. Authorities said allowing the fire to burn itself out was the safest response. Officials described the fire as one of two back-to-back incidents at Convergent sites, the other nearby in the Village of Warwick on Church Street, but did not say what the second incident involved. Convergent said suppression units within the affected battery containers at both sites had activated and that it was monitoring the sites with the fire department and Powin. County officials advised residents within a quarter-mile radius to stay indoors and keep windows closed as a precaution while air quality was monitored, and said measurements remained within normal parameters.
A storm passed through the area on the night the fire started. A source told the news outlet that both incidents may have been caused by lightning or a power surge, but this was not confirmed by authorities.
- Battery storage sites should be assessed for resilience against lightning strikes and grid power surges, particularly in areas prone to severe storms.
- Allowing a contained battery fire to burn out under close monitoring, rather than attempting active suppression, can be a deliberate and safer strategy in some thermal events.
- Continuous air quality monitoring and clear public shelter-in-place advice are important during multi-day battery fires, especially where a site sits close to a community or school grounds.
- Operators and manufacturers should be ready to communicate clearly about the toxic gases, including fluoride compounds, that lithium-ion battery fires can release.
Published 2026-09-15. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.